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Accessory  After  the  Fact 


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The  Royal  Exchange  and  the  Bank  of  England 


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Accessory  After  the  Fact 

By 


William  Alfred  Hobday 


^^S^^n^^"*^ 


THE  C.   M.   CLARK    PUBLISHING   COMPANY 
BOSTON.  MASSACHUSETTS 


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Copyright,  1911 

The  C.  M.  Clark  Publishing  Company 

boston.  massachusetts 

U.    S.    A. 

All  Rights  Reserved 
Entered  at  Stationers  Hall,  London 


To  my  telepathic  communicant  ^  who  was  the  inspira- 
tion of  the  work,  this  hook  is  dedicated. 

The  Author, 


411437 


Accessory  After  the    Fact 


CHAPTER  I 

A  Kensington  'bus  had  just  pulled  up  at 
the  curb  of  the  Royal  Exchange  campus  on 
the  Threadneedle  Street  side.  A  well-tail- 
ored blonde  arose  from  her  seat  on  the  top 
and  commenced  to  descend  by  the  circular 
stairway  at  the  end.  As  she  took  hold  of  the 
railing  to  steady  herself  her  gaze  wandered 
to  the  corner  of  the  Bank  opposite. 

Emerging  from  Princess  Street  was  a 
smartly  dressed  young  man  who,  as  he  caught 
her  glance,  raised  his  hat,  thus  exposing  a 
bald  pate.  He  hurried  across  the  street, 
with  the  evident  intention  of  assisting  the 
girl,  but  she  had  tripped  lightly  down  the 
steps  and  was  standing  on  the  asphalt. 

"Do  you  believe  in  telepathy,  Mr.  Sands?'' 
she  questioned  earnestly. 

He  gave  her  a  startled  look  as  though  the 

1 


2  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

question  possessed  some  particular  signifi- 
cance. 

"Why,  most  wonderful  of  clairvoyants?'^ 
he  replied. 

''Oh,  just  this.  Before  the  'bus  stopped 
I  looked  over  toward  the  Bank  and  saw  a 
man  coming,  whom  at  first  glance  I  thought  to 
be  you;  but  as  he  approached  I  knew  I  was 
mistaken.  Having  had  this  experience  occur 
to  me  so  many  times  in  connection  with  other 
people,  I  looked,  expecting  you  to  turn  the 
corner;  and  lo  and  behold,  you  appeared!" 

They  had  started  to  walk  across  the  campus 
in  the  direction  of  Lombard  Street,  but  paused 
in  front  of  the  WelKngton  Statue. 

"May  I  ask  where  you  are  going?"  the  man 
said. 

"I  have  been  caUing  on  my  aunt  in  Ken- 
sington Gardens  and  thought  it  would  be  an 
enjoyable  change  to  ride  into  the  city  on  the 
top  of  an  omnibus.  I  did  intend  to  go  over 
to  Lothbury  to  get  a  foreign  draft  cashed,  but 
I  am  reminded  by  the  number  of  people  who 
are  hurrying  along  carrying  fishing  rods,  guns 
and  hand  bags,  toward  the  Tube  entrance 
and  in  the  direction  of  Cannon  Street  and 
Liverpool    Street    Stations,    that    today     is 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  3 

Saturday  and  the  banks  and  offices  have 
already  closed.  I  saw  the  'Ball'  drop,  too, 
as  we  passed  Bennett's  and  knew  I  was  too 
late/' 

''Well,  I  say  let's  take  the  Tube,"  he 
remarked,  "and  go  out  to  the  Park.  We 
can  ascend  at  Marble  Arch  and  stroll  in  the 
Row.  We  shall  be  there  in  time  to  see  some 
people;  then  I  can  walk  over  to  the  house 
with  you  and  have  tea,  if  you  are  gracious 
enough  to  invite  me." 

"  I  will  go  to  the  Park  but  I  cannot  endorse 
your  invitation  to  tea,  Mr.  Sands.  Uncle 
George  has  some  friends  from  Calcutta  for 
dinner  this  evening,  and  you  know  he  always 
looks  to  me  to  advise  with  Tompkins  and  Mrs. 
Clapp  when  guests  are  coming." 

"Why  can't  he  give  orders  to  the  butler 
and  housekeeper  himself  instead  of  putting 
that  duty  on  you?"  returned  Sands  un- 
graciously. 

"It  is  a  great  pleasure  to  relieve  Uncle 
George  of  all  domestic  responsibility.  Aunt 
Amelia  superintended  the  housework  entirely, 
and,  as  you  know,  my  aunt  died  during  the 
General's  absence  in  India,"  she  replied. 

They  descended  the  steps  to  the  corridor 


4  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

below  the  pavement  and  approached  the 
entrance  to  the  lift,  for  descent  to  the  Tube. 

"Excuse  me  one  moment/'  Sands  apolo- 
gized, '^I  want  to  get  some  cigarettes  and  a 
paper/' 

He  rushed  into  a  tobacconist's  shop  and 
as  he  came  out  a  boy  shoved  an  Evening 
Standard  at  him,  also  a  box  of  Vesuvians, 
which  he  grasped,  leaving  a  shilling  with  the 
boy  and  not  waiting  for  any  change.  He 
secured  their  tickets  and  dropped  them  into 
the  box  as  they  entered  the  big  elevator. 
Here  they  were  lowered  to  the  well-lighted 
station,  a  hundred  feet  below,  just  as  electric 
trains  coming  from  different  directions  stopped 
on  each  side  of  the  platform.  The  gates 
were  drawn  open  and  they  entered  the  car. 

"These  trains  are  similar  to  those  on  the 
elevated  roads  in  Shikarger  and  N'  York,'' 
said  Sands,  hurriedly  adding,  "so  I  am  in- 
formed." 

"Anyone  would  certainly  think  by  your 
accent,"  smiled  Miss  Broughton,  "that  you 
had  been  there.  As  a  rule.  Englishmen  who 
do  not  say  ^Chick-ago,'  say  ^She-car-go'  and 
'Noo-Yark'." 

Sands,  however,  changed  the  subject.     "  We 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  5 

might  have  gone  to  Grinnage  by  the  boat, 
if  you'd  had  time  this  afternoon.  The  Engi- 
neer Corps  have  a  match  game  of  cricket 
that  you  would  have  found  interesting/' 

The  conductor  now  called  ''Marble  Arch/' 
and  they  left  the  train  and  entered  the  lift 
which  placed  them  level  with  the  pavement. 
They  passed  through  the  Albert  Gate  entrance 
and  shortly  took  a  seat,  watching  the  pro- 
cession of  motor  cars  and  carriages. 

"Let  us  walk  over  to  the  Serpentine 
Bridge/'  suggested  Sands. 

'^  Oh^  I  have  not  been  there  since  the  acci- 
dent. Why,  Walter — Mr.  Sands — it  is  just 
a  year  today  since  you  so  nobly  at  the  risk 
of  your  hfe  dashed  out  and  stopped  our 
horses.  Poor  Putnam,  the  coachman,  never 
regained  his  consciousness.  The  fall  from  the 
box  fractured  his  skull  and  the  doctors  said 
he  evidently  had  an  attack  of  apoplexy 
before  faUing  headlong  to  the  ground.  His 
fall  frightened  the  horses,  and  but  for  your 
bravery  I  might  not  be  here  today.  The 
shock  was  too  much  for  poor  Aunt  AmeUa. 
The  attack  of  nervous  prostration  which 
followed  was  the  cause  of  her  death.  Uncle 
George  worried  all  the  time  and  blames  him- 


6  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

self  for  leaving  her  in  England.  How  can  I 
ever  repay  you  for  your  brave  rescue?'' 

'^  You  have  long  since  known/'  he  returned, 
looking  fondly  into  her  eyes,  '^by  allowing  me 
to  care  for  you  always." 

^^Oh!  I  cannot  think  of  you  otherwise  than 
with  respect  and  gratitude  and  I  have  tried  to 
show  that  to  the  fullest  extent,  but  there  is 
something  'canny',  if  you  will,  that  tells  me  we 
must  have  no  closer  relationship.  Call  it 
woman's  instinct,  magnetism,  anything,  a 
warning  from  my  fairy^  godmother  perhaps — 
but  I  cannot  shake  it  off.  The  General 
thinks  a  great  deal  of  you;  he  says  that  since 
you  entered  the  office  of  the  Council  of  Foreign 
Bond-holders  not  much  over  a  year  ago  the 
change  in  the  office  work  has  been  noticeable 
and  your  advancement  well  deserved." 

'^Ah,  the  General  talks  of  retiring  from 
the  presidency,  too,"  he  broke  in. 

They  had  left  the  Park,  after  bowing  to  a 
number  of  the  occupants  of  vehicles,  also  to 
promenaders  on  foot  and  had  crossed  over  to 
the  Edgeware  Road  corner. 

"  Shall  we  stop  here  and  get  a  cup  of  tea 
and  a  bun?"  he  proposed,  and  she  did  not 
demur. 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  7 

Sands  handed  his  hat  to  the  waiter  as  they 
entered  the  tea-room  at  the  back  of  the  cater- 
er's shop.  There  was  an  electric  reflector 
over  his  head  and  the  girl  noticed  that  the 
bald  spot  in  the  centre  of  the  black  hair, 
instead  of  presenting  its  usual  shiny  baldness, 
was  covered  with  a  two  days'  growth  of  blonde 
hair,  showing  plainly  that  if  allowed  to  grow 
there  would  be  no  bald  spot  and  the  growth 
would  be  if  anything  of  a  lighter  shade  than 
her  own  hair.  Thus  did  her  warning  spirit 
cast  the  first  shadow  of  distrust. 

Having  disposed  of  the  black  tea  and 
sponge  cake  they  walked  down  Seymour 
Place  to  Bry^anstone  Square,  where  the 
Broughton  family  residence  was  situated. 
Sands  left  Eleanor  at  the  door.  He  then 
walked  to  the  Marylebone  Road  and  sig- 
naling a  hansom  directed  the  driver  to  set 
him  down  at  the  Baker  Street  Station  of  the 
Metropolitan.  Here  he  bought  a  ticket  for 
Moorgate  Street  and  from  thence  walked  to 
his  apartments  in  Finsbur}^  Square  at  the 
residence  of  Dr.  Francis  H.  Falconer. 

They  had  met  at  an  international  gathering 
of  microscopists,  held  at  the  Cr3'stal  Palace 
more    than   a   year   previously,    and    having 


8  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

kindred  ideas,  the  Doctor  had  invited  him 
after  several  visits  to  his  home  laboratory  to 
take  up  his  abode  with  them,  a  proposition 
which  was  most  heartily  seconded  by  the 
physician's  bachelor  sister.  Both  of  them 
were  born  in  that  house.  The  name  of 
Falconer  was  identified  with  Finsbury  Square. 
When  the  Doctor  traveled  abroad,  be  it 
Paris,  Berlin,  Florence,  Rome  or  the  United 
States,  he  signed  his  name  on  the  hotel 
register:  Francis  H.  Falconer,  M.  D.,  Fins- 
bury  Square,  and  without  doubt  a  letter 
posted  to  that  address  would  come  into  his 
possession. 

Dr.  Falconer  was  well  able  to  maintain  an 
office  in  Harley  or  Queen  Anne  Streets,  for 
he  had  a  large  consulting  practice  in  the 
West  End  \  but  no  one  could  coax  him  to  give 
up  his  Finsbury  Square  residence  where  he 
had  succeeded  to  his  father's  practice.  He 
was  on  the  staff  of  St.  Bartholomew's  as  a 
lecturer  on  pathology  and  bacteriology.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  London  Microscopical 
Society,  to  which  he  had  introduced  Walter 
Sands,  thus  securing  his  membership  as  well. 

He  had  proved  to  the  Societ\^  that  all 
specific  bacteria  can  be  found  in  the  normal 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  9 

secretions  of  the  average  mouth,  that  it  is 
only  in  pathologic  conditions,  when  these 
bacteria  have  been  innoculated  with  toxic 
secretions  that  they  become  harmful.  He 
also  declared  that  the  baccillus  typhosus  or 
germ  of  Eberth  was  originally  a  benign  germ 
and  not  until  it  has  been  saturated  with 
poisonous  matter,  does  it  have  any  desire  to 
attack  its  host  and  perforate  the  glands  of 
Peyer  located  in  the  upper  portion  of  the  illeum. 

The  Doctor  had  also  taught  that  under 
corrected  hygienic  conditions  typhoid  fever 
can  be  prevented  by  having  all  foods  thor- 
oughly cooked  and  sterilized,  all  drinking 
water  properly  tested  and  that  the  much 
dreaded  disease  can  be  converted  into  a 
mild  enteric  type  by  intestinal  antiseptics 
and  deobstruents  producing  active  elimina- 
tion by  all  emunctories. 

Sands  had  no  vicious  habits  or  tendencies 
toward  a  dissipated  life  and  was  glad  to  find 
a  home  with  the  Doctor  and  his  sister. 

Mrs.  Falconer,  the  Doctor's  wife,  had  been 
killed  in  a  railway  accident  about  three  years 
before  this.  They  had  one  son,  Philip,  now 
twelve  years  of  age,  attending  public  school 
at  Eton.     When  at  home  on  vacations,  his 


10  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

greatest  delight  was  to  be  initiated  and 
instructed  in  the  use  of  the  microscope. 

He  could  talk  about  focus,  oil  immersion, 
lenses,  the  preparation  of  pathologic  slides 
and  the  staining  of  bacteriologic  specimens, etc., 
in  a  way  that  showed  keen  interest. 

Sands,  too,  had  offered  a  proposition  to 
the  Microscopical  Society  in  thesis  form, 
showing  the  absence  of  uric  acid  and  bacil- 
lus coli-communis  in  typhoid,  claiming 
that  the  baccillus  coli-communis  had  simply 
been  converted  into  the  bacillus  of  Eberth.* 

*  Colon  Bacillus  and  Uric  Acid. — Trautner  has  continued  his 
research  in  this  line  examining  88  children,  39  infants  and  large 
numbers  of  older  children,  besides  o2  typhoid  patients,  with 
327  control  examinations,  the  latter  including  50  patients  with 
scarlet  fever,  28  with  tuberculosis,  130  with  other  diseases, 
110  healthy  soldiers  and  9  persons  with  the  uric  acid  diathesis. 
No  uric  acid  was  found  in  healthy  infants,  and  the  colon  bacillus 
was  rarely  present  in  their  stools.  When  large  amounts  of  colon 
bacilli  were  found  in  the  infants'  stools,  considerable  amounts 
of  uric  acid  appeared  in  the  urine.  Rabbits  with  no  uric  acid 
in  the  urine  soon  showed  a  considerable  amount  after  being  fed 
with  colon  bacilli.  Typhoid  bacilli  seem  to  kill  colon  bacilli, 
this  action  being  marked  in  tlic  test-tube  with  a  peptone  culture 
mediimi,  in  the  course  of  a  few  days.  During  typhoid,  the 
proportion  of  uric  acid  in  the  urine  progressively  declines  as  the 
disease  runs  its  course,  so  that  the  amount  of  uric  acid  is  much 
less  in  advanced  typhoid  than  in  normal  persons  and  in  those 
with  other  maladies  and  in  the  same  person  l)efore  the  typhoid. 
Tliese  facts,  he  says,  seem  to  confirm  his  assertion  that  the 
colon  bacillus  is  responsible  for  the  production  of  uric  acid. 
{Clipping  from  ihc  Journal  of  the  American  Medical  Association. 
Feb.  19,  1910.) 

The  author  has  been  a  member  of  the  American    Medical    A.^so- 
ciation  in  good  standing  since  1883. 


CHAPTER  II 

Miss  Constance  Falconer,  the  Doctor's 
sister,  was  about  forty  years  of  age.  Like 
many  other  Londoners  she  had  never  been 
inside  the  Tower,  Westminster  Abbey,  the 
Houses  of  ParUament  or  the  British  Museum, 
but  she  had  been  to  the  service  at  St.  Paul's 
a  few  times. 

Her  childhood's  remembrance  was  of  play- 
ing on  the  grass  inside  the  railed  enclosure  of 
Finsbury  Square,  in  charge  of  a  nursery  maid. 
This  recreation  was  diversified  at  regular 
intervals  by  a  drive  in  some  of  the  parks, 
seated  in  her  father's  brougham,  to  the  parts 
of  the  city  where  he  made  his  rounds,  or  out  on 
the  City  Road,  the  New  North  Road,  Hoxton, 
about  Islington,  Highbury,  Stoke  Newington, 
the  Green  Lanes,  Hornsey,  Seven  Sisters' 
Road,  Stamford  Hill,  Abney  Park  Cemeter}', 
Tottenham,  Clapton,  the  Lea  Bridge  Road 
by  the  great  water  works  plant,  down  through 
Hackne^^  and  past  Victoria  Park  to  the  Bow 

11 


12  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

Road  and  on  to  White  Chapel  and  the  London 
Hospital,  where  he  made  a  visit  to  the  wards, 
diagnosed  the  diseases  of  the  newcomers 
and  left  instructions  with  the  house  surgeon 
for  their  future  treatment. 

Dr.  Horatio  Falconer  was  born  at  Notting 
Hill  and  all  of  his  early  associations  had  been 
at  the  West  End.  When  he  came  home  from 
Eton  for  his  vacation,  he  played  cricket  at 
Willsden,  Hyde  Park  and  Regents  Park. 
He  had  fished  at  Brentford  and  in  the  Ser- 
pentine. He  had  also  been  up  the  Thames  to 
Richmond  and  Hampton  Court  and  later 
when  he  had  gone  to  Oxford,  he  had  floated 
down  the  river  in  a  house-boat. 

He  had  taken  up  the  study  of  medicine 
with  Dr.  Pearse  of  St.  George's  Square, 
attended  lectures  at  King's  College  in  Lin- 
coln's Inn  Fields,  and  took  in  the  clinics  at 
the  London,  Middlesex,  Guy's,  Westminster, 
St.  Thomas',  the  Brompton  and  Victoria 
Park  hospitals. 

A  friend  of  Charles  Darwin's,  he  was  an 
occasional  visitor  at  the  great  man^s  country 
home.  Moreover,  he  was  a  member  of  the 
London  Medical  Society  and  a  devout  Church- 
man. 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  13 

Constance  Falconer  was  sent  to  a  select 
school  at  Canterbury  and  later  to  Paris  and 
Florence  for  languages  and  music,  both  in- 
strumental and  vocal.  She  had  experienced 
the  '^tender  passion/'  her  lover  Lieutenant 
Brainsford,  being  one  of  those  who  was 
sacrificed  by  the  unpreparedness  of  the  gov- 
ernment at  the  time  of  the  Zulu  war.  He  was 
with  the  young  Louis,  son  of  the  Empress 
Eugenie,  and  in  his  attempt  to  assist  the 
prince  to  escape  he  became  a  target  for  the 
assegais  of  the  Zulus. 

Dr.  Francis  Falconer  had  heard  Mr.  Glad- 
stone in  1889  and  he  now  proposed  that  his 
sister,  his  niece,  and  Sands  should  visit  the 
Towner,  the  Abbey  and  the  Houses  of  Parlia- 
ment. Walter  Sands  promised  to  interview 
Miss  Broughton  and  invite  her  to  join  the 
party. 

The  Doctor  asked  Sands  to  call  at  the  Stock 
Exchange  to  see  his  friend,  Frederick  Hob- 
son,  who  was  city  member  of  ParHament,  and 
ask  him  to  obtain  tickets  for  their  admission 
to  the  gallery. 

The  young  man  had  a  rather  unpleasant 
experience,  however,  in  fulfilling  this  errand. 
He    entered    the    Stock    Exchange    building 


14  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

at  the  Throgmorton  Street  vestibule,  called 
out  the  name  of  Frederick  Hobson,  the  jobber 
he  wished  to  see,  and  the  uniformed  steward 
from  his  enclosure  shouted  through  a  speaking 
tube  to  the  floor  of  the  House,  ^^  Frederick 
'Obson!  ^Obson!  'Obson!'^  Sands  took  his 
place  to  wait  on  the  outer  row  of  men  lined  up 
with  their  backs  to  the  wall. 

^'Get  off  my  toe!  You  are  stepping  on  my 
foot!''  screamed  a  man  behind  him. 

''  I  beg  your  pardon,  sir,  if  you  think  it  was 
me,  but  I  am  quite  positive  that  I  did  not  step 
on  your  foot,"  Sands  bristled. 

^^Yes  you  did,  you  know  you  did.  You 
did  it  on  purpose,"  shouted  the  man  who  wore 
a  tall  hat  and  frock  coat  and  looked  as  if  he 
might  be  a  lawyer's  clerk. 

''  I  am  very  sorry,  sir,  but  as  I  said  before, 
I  know  it  was  not  me." 

''You  did  it  and  you  are  glad  of  it,"  re- 
torted the  other. 

Walter  Sands  had  taken  as  much  as  he 
could  stand.  He  leaned  over  toward  his 
tormentor,  and  said  close  to  his  ear,  ''You 
lie,  sir!" 

The  man  sprang  out  of  the  rank  and  crossed 
to  the  opposite  side,   on  his  way  shouting. 


1^1  Accessory  After  the  Fact  15 

^'Blasted  foreigner!  I'd  like  to  swat  him  in 
the  mouth."     And  there  the  incident  closed. 

Mr.  Frederick  Hobson  came  out  and  Sands 
presented  his  introductory  letter  signed  by 
Falconer. 

The  member  promised,  ''  I  can  get  you  these 
tickets  if  3^ou  will  wait  a  few  minutes  till  I 
go  back  on  the  floor  of  the  House,  and  then 
you  can  go  with  me  to  my  office  in  Shorter's 
Court,  close  by.'' 

On  his  return  and  when  they  had  reached 
his  office,  Hobson  asked,  ^'By  the  way,  Mr. 
Sands,  are  you  of  an  athletic  turn  of  mind?" 

"Try  me,"  smiled  Sands. 

''Well,  I  will.  I  had  the  honor  to  win  the 
amateur  lightweight  championship  of  Eng- 
land a  few  years  ago,  and  there  is  a  husky 
broker  in  the  house  who  thinks  I  ought  to 
defend  it,  evidently.  He  has  been  after  me 
for  the  last  six  months  to  put  the  gloves  on 
with  him.  I  have  said  man}^  times,  'Oh! 
I'm  not  fit  now — been  sick  you  know,  and 
all  that.     My  wind  is  gone.' 

"'Come  on,'  he'd  say,  'put  'em  on.' 

"He's  been  telHng  around  that  he's  a 
wonder  with  the  gloves  and  can't  get  me  to 
try  him,  so  I  finally  promised  to  give  him  a 


16  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

bout  at  four-thirty  this  afternoon  in  the  City 
of  London  Rifles'  Armory.  My  brother  is 
a  member  and  invited  us  to  use  the  gym- 
nasium, for  the  try-out/' 

^'I  shall  be  more  than  dehghted — it  is 
past  four  now/^  accepted  Walter. 

"  Yes,  let  us  start  at  once;  it  is  not  very  far 
on  Finsbury  pavement/'  answered  his  friend. 

They  met  Horace  Meyers,  the  broker  who 
was  to  box  a  number  of  his  friends,  and  some 
of  the  members  of  the  Rifle  Brigade.  The 
ring  was  formed  and  the  combatants  stripped 
for  the  fray,  and  with  their  boxing-gloves 
fitted  on  they  took  positions.  Meyers  was 
heavier  and  seemed  much  more  muscular 
than  the  other.  Hobson  gave  his  opponent  a 
chance  to  make  a  few  swings  at  him  which 
he  avoided,  nimbly  side-stepping,  then  he 
sailed  in,  dancing  about  his  adversary  and 
landing  his  blows  with  lightning-like  rapidity. 
He  planted  one  with  his  left  between  the 
eyes,  and  as  Meyer's  head  went  back,  his 
right  came  up  with  a  deadly  upper  cut,  which 
landed  on  the  point  of  the  jaw,  and  down  went 
Meyers.  He  scrambled  up,  however,  and 
made  a  groggy  rush  for  Hobson,  with  both 
arms  whirUng  like  the  sails  of  a  windmill. 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  17 

Hobson  stood  his  ground,  feinted  with 
his  left  and  planted  the  punch  he  had  kept 
in  cold  storage  for  the  occasion  over  the  solar 
plexus.     Then  the  curtain  was  rung  down. 

'^This  is  my  finish!''  sputtered  Meyers,  as 
he  arose  from  the  floor,  breathing  heavily. 
'^I  did  not  expect  you'd  go  at  me  like  that, 
Hobson." 

"Oh,  no!  You  were  foxy  enough  to  think 
that  you  could  tire  me  out  and  then  land  a 
'sock-dolliger'  that  would  keep  the  cook 
waiting  to  serve  my  dinner  this  evening. 
Come  on,  Sands,  I'll  miss  my  train,  if  we  don't 
hurry.  Au  revoir.  Bon  soir,  messieurs/^  and 
out  they  rushed. 

"I  was  up  to  his  little  game,"  declared 
Hobson,  "Had  to  do  him  quickly.  Well 
bye-bye,  old  man,  I'll  slip  down  London 
Wall  to  the  Liverpool  Street  Station;  you  are 
going  to  Finsbury  Square,  I  suppose?" 

"  Yes,  thank  you  very  much  for  the  tickets 
and  for  the  boxing  tournament,"  returned 
Walter. 

"Gad!  I  wouldn't  hke  to  have  that  duffer 
land  on  my  wind  very  often.  Why,  he's  a 
GoHath,"  cautioned  Hobson,  as  he  rushed  for 
his  train. 


CHAPTER  III 

Eleanor  Broughton  was  the  only  daugh- 
ter of  Basil  and  Ehzabeth  Broughton,  to 
whom  two  children  had  been  born.  Lieu- 
tenant Albert  Edward  Broughton  was  with 
Lieutenant  Roberts  in  that  gun  sortie  and 
both  lost  their  lives  in  a  display  of  that  reck- 
less bravery  which  has  already  sacrificed  the 
flower  of  the  British  army. 

Foolhardy  frontal  attacks  on  barricades, 
behind  which  sat  women  and  children  who 
could  shoot  and  who  used  Mausers  and  Craig 
Bjornsen's  and  actually  picked  off  the  Eng- 
lish officers  before  they  reached  the  firing 
line  of  the  British  whose  arms  were  of  an 
antique  pattern. 

Long  before  the  British  government  had 
issued  its  ultimatum,  Oom  Paul  had  been 
buying  the  best  and  most  modern  rifles  in 
Europe  and  America,  marking  them  ^^agri- 
cultural implements,  pianos,  hardware,'^  etc., 
and  shipping  them  into  the  Transvaal.     The 

18 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  19 

weapons  were  secretly  housed  and  carefully 
distributed  to  the  men,  who  were  to  be 
read}'  to  answer  the  call  to  arms.  These 
men  later,  fighting  with  Indian  tactics,  taught 
the  world's  generals  the  use  of  mounted 
infantry.  They  could  strike  a  hard  blow  at 
night  and  be  forty  miles  away  from  the  scene 
of  their  attack  and  ready  to  administer 
another  the  next  day. 

Lord  Roberts  had  to  be  summoned  from 
India  to  show  the  fighting  contingent  how 
to  use  artillery  against  the  barricades,  while 
the  infantry  was  making  a  flank  movement 
on  the  enemy's  position. 

While  Roberts  conducted  the  maneuvers, 
Kitchener,  that  wonderful  man  of  details, 
saw  that  everything  needful  was  provided 
to  sustain  the  army  in  the  field. 

The  Boers  made  a  noble  stand  and  though 
defeated,  have  the  respect  of  their  conquerors 
and  the  whole  civilized  world. 

When  Eleanor  was  only  ten  and  her  brother 
Albert  twelve  years  of  age,  they  accompanied 
their  parents  to  Boston,  U.  S.  A.,  where 
Basil  Broughton  had  been  appointed  H.  M. 
Consul-general. 

The  children  had  been  under  the   training 


20  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

of  a  governess,  but  she  married  soon  after 
reaching  the  United  States,  so  that  they 
were  placed  in  a  boarding  school  at  Newton, 
Massachusetts,  a  suburb  of  Boston.  It  was 
there  that  the  hfelong  friendship  commenced 
between  Eleanor  Broughton  and  Isobel  Car- 
ruthers,  whose  widowed  father,  the  Rev. 
Richard  Carruthers  lived  at  Dwighton,  some 
eighty  miles  distant. 

Why  Eleanor  had  never  mentioned  her 
American  experience  to  Sands  she  could  not 
explain,  but  the  fact  remained  that  she  had 
not. 

When  sixteen  years  of  age  she  went  with 
her  mother  to  Paris  to  perfect  her  French 
and  have  the  society-finish  placed  on  her 
schoolroom  education,  that  the  Parisian  teach- 
ers know  so  well  how  to  add. 

While  they  were  in  France  her  mother 
died  and  her  father  brought  the  remains  to 
England  to  be  interred  in  the  family  burying- 
ground  on  their  estate  in  Kent. 

He  gave  up  his  position  in  Boston,  intending 
to  supervise  the  education  of  the  children, 
but  he  soon  followed  his  wife.  They  were 
one,  and  when  a  part  of  his  personahty  was 
gone  he  could  not  be  comforted.      He  felt 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  21 

lost  without  her.  His  physical  resistance  was 
weakened  and  the  London  humidity  soon  did 
the  rest.  The  name  of  Basil  was  added  to 
the  tombstone  at  their  countr}^  home  near 
Maidstone,  where  hardly  a  year  before  he 
had  laid  all  that  was  mortal  of  the  wife  he 
loved. 

Eleanor  went  to  live  at  her  uncle^s  home, 
while  Albert  was  getting  his  military  edu- 
cation at  the  Woolwich  Academy. 

Sands  had  called  at  Bryanstone  Square  to 
invite  Miss  Broughton  and  to  arrange  for  the 
visit  to  the  Tower  and  other  places  of  interest, 
with  Miss  Falconer  and  her  niece  on  the 
following  day. 

They  were  seated  in  the  Ubrary  in  front 
of  the  open  fire-place,  where  a  pleasant  cannel- 
coal  fire  burned  in  the  grate. 

The  General  had  dined  at  his  club,  with  his 
East  Indian  friends,  and  Eleanor  had  ordered 
tea  served  in  the  Ubrary.  Sands  seemed  to 
be  more  intoxicated  by  the  vision  of  her 
delicate,  blonde  beauty  than  usual.  He  had 
taken  his  second  cup  of  the  delicious  China 
tea  which  she  had  brewed  for  him,  and  his 
eyes  followed  the  movements  of  the  long, 
shapely  fingers.    One  of  the  aristocratic  marks 


22  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

of  the  Broughtons  had  been  their  beautiful 
hands. 

^'  Why  do  you  seek  to  put  me  off  and  avoid 
the  subject  every  time  I  try  to  tell  you  of 
my  regard  and  the  sentiments  of  my  heart/' 
he  implored. 

^^For  this  reason,  Walter/'  she  replied,  ^^I 
do  not  wish  our  acquaintance  to  terminate 
as  it  would  do  at  once  if  I  allowed  you  to 
give  expression  to  the  sentiments  you  pro- 
fess. In  the  first  place,  I  am  in  love  with  my 
Creator  and  have  no  room  for  the  soul-essence 
of  a  mortal,  outside  of  my  immediate  family. 
Then  I  will  tell  you  truly  there  is  a  cloud 
enveloping  your  personality,  that  is  very 
plain  to  me.  I  have  actually  seen,  with  my 
mortal  vision,  a  thick,  black  cloud  surrounding 
you,  out  of  which  seem  to  come  flashes  of 
lightning  and  I  could  even  seem  to  hear  the 
rumble  of  distant  thunder,  following  the 
display  of  scintillations  and  cerebral  pyro- 
technics. Call  it  a  visible  brain-storm  if  you 
will.  There  are  times  when  my  mind  has 
reverted  to  the  desire  you  wish  to  express, 
but  I  am  always  warned  not  to  pursue  the 
subject.'' 

''Eleanor,  this  is  absurd,"  pleaded  Sands. 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  23 

"No,  it  is  not,  Walter,"  she  replied. 
"Often,  I  think  had  it  not  been  for  your 
bravery  my  soul  would  not  now  be  occupying 
this  garment  of  flesh,  and  I  am  possessed 
with  the  belief  that  there  will  come  a  time 
when  I  shall  be  able  to  do  for  you  a  service 
that  will  be  commensurate  with  that  of  your 
own  brave  action  in  rescuing  this  poor  body 
from  what  seemed  to  be  certain  destruction. 

"I  must  tell  you  that  I  have  been  all  my 
life  what  investigators  into  psychologic  phe- 
nomena, call  clairvoyant — a  medium  for  the 
reception  of  communications  from  disem- 
bodied spirits,  souls  who  have  left  their 
earthly  tenements,  and  are  detained  in  that 
state  which  we  term  purgatory  or  paradise, 
the  place  where  Jesus  visited  the  spirits  in 
bondage  that  Peter  tells  us  about. 

''There  was  a  most  strange  visitation  with 
me  for  some  weeks.  Every  time  I  went  into 
my  dressing-room  and  sat  down  at  my  table, 
a  vision  of  Dr.  Stuart  Barlow  came  into  my 
mind;  when  I  left  the  room,  he  left;  when  I 
returned,  no  matter  what  tlie  time,  he  was 
there.  You  know  he  died  about  a  year  ago. 
He  had  been  warned  ]n  Dr.  Cecil,  whom  he 
himself  regarded  as  an  authority  on  the  heart, 


24  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

that  another  attack  of  cardiac  asthma  might 
be  fatal,  and  that  the  very  diffusible  stim- 
ulant in  which  he  had  so  much  faith,  was 
partly  the  cause  of  the  trouble ;  but  he  kept  it 
in  his  operating-room  locker  at  the  infirmary 
as  a  'bracer'  before  operating  and  resorted  to 
it  to  keep  his  circulation  'balanced/ 

^'His  v/ife  had  died  of  a  broken  heart  a 
few^  months  previously.  That  affair  at  the 
infirmary  was  glossed  over  by  the  Board  and 
all  concerned  were  'whitewashed/  but  anyone 
could  see  that  Mrs.  Barlow  failed  every 
day.  He  took  her  to  the  mountains  to  avoid 
the  heat,  and  she  had  the  best  of  care,  but 
the  germ  of  distrust  had  done  its  work.  Her 
spirit  had  been  wounded. 

"He  used  to  come  and  talk  with  me  after 
her  death.  'Now,  Miss  Eleanor,'  he  would 
say,  'you  don't  believe  all  that  rubbish  about 
Moses  going  up  on  Mount  Sinai  to  receive  the 
tables  of  the  law  and  Christ  being  born  of  a 
virgin,  do  you,  now?  It  is  ridiculous  to  ask 
a  scientist  and  a  gynecologist  to  believe  it. 
Now,  isn't  it?' 

"'Doctor,'  I  told  him,  'Moses  was  a  type 
of  Christ.  God  gave  him  the  law  of  the  old 
dispensation.     While  he  was  on  the  mount, 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  25 

the  people  set  up  a  golden  calf.  God  did 
not  allow  Moses  to  enter  into  the  promised 
land;  he  was  punished  for  the  sins  of  the 
Israelites. 

'^^God  sent  His  only  begotten  Son'  with 
the  new  dispensation.  The  Word  became 
flesh  and  dwelt  among  men.'  He  showed 
them  His  divinity  by  His  works  but  they 
would  have  none  of  Him.  How  could 
they?  The  end  had  been  foretold  before  His 
advent;  He  made  a  vicarious  atonement 
for  them  and  proclaimed  their  exemption 
from  blame. 

''They  know  not  what  they  do.'  He 
knew  they  could  not  do  otherwise.  It  was 
only  another  instance  of  the  fulfillment  of 
prophecy,  as  when  after  reading  some  verses 
of  Isaiah  on  the  Sabbath,  He  said.  This  day 
is  this  Scripture  fulfilled  in  your  ears.' 

'T  could  not  imagine  why  Dr.  Barlow 
continued  to  come  to  me,  but  he  had  been 
kind  on  many  occasions.  No  matter  how 
many  of  my  proteges  and  sick  ones  I  sent 
to  his  office,  they  were  always  treated  to  the 
best,  and  never  would  he  allow  me  to  pay  for 
the  service. 

"T  must  do  my  share,'  he  would  insist, 


26  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

^you  work  for  them  early  and  late.  Does 
anyone  pay  you?'" 

''Ah,  Eleanor/'  returned  Sands,  ''a  look 
from  those  sky-blue  eyes  of  yours,  surrounded 
by  their  halo  of  golden  hair,  was  enough  to 
cure  them,  and  he  knew  it." 

''Nonsense!"  she  demurred.  "They  needed 
medicine  and  skillful  treatment  and  he  gave 
it  to  them.  He  was  a  great  surgeon.  I 
determined  to  try  if  I  could  find  out  what  he 
wanted,  so  I  said,  'Doctor  Barlow,  I  do  not 
know  why  you  come  to  me,  you  seem  to  be  in 
trouble  and  to  want  me  to  do  something  for 
you.  I  will  pray  for  you.'  And  I  did.  I 
asked  God  to  bless  him  and  to  help  him,  if 
there  w^as  anything  in  the  wa}'  of  his  advance- 
ment to  remove  it,  and  I  told  how  good  he 
had  been  to  the  poor  and  suffering  and  said 
that  if  he  could  not  accept  the  BibUcal  story 
here,  it  was  because  he  had  been  so  busy 
with  his  work,  as  a  good  physician,  that  he  had 
not  had  the  time  to  study  theology,  and  I 
ended  by  pleading,  'Jesus  prayed,  'Father, 
forgive  them,  for  they  know  not  what  they 
do."  I  have  not  seen  the  vision  or  had  the 
impression  of  Dr.  Barlow's  presence  since 
that  time." 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  27 

'' You  are  a  saint/'  said  Sands,  with  a  look 
as  of  worship  on  his  face,  ''and  if  I 
have  to  hold  your  friendship  by  keeping  my 
sentiments  to  myself,  you  shall  hear  no  more/' 

''You  may  smoke,"  she  gave  permission, 
"and  tell  me  about  this  proposed  trip  to  the 
Tower  and  other  places." 

"We  are  to  lunch  at  Dr.  Falconer's  resi- 
dence in  Finsbury  Square  at  twelve-thirty 
and  go  from  there  in  the  family  carriage  to 
the  Tower.  If  it  is  agreeable,  I  shall  meet 
you  at  the  Moorgate  Street  Station  of  the 
Underground   at   twelve  o'clock  tomorrow." 


CHAPTER  IV 

Almost  at  the  moment  that  the  hands  on 
the  station  clock  dial  pointed  to  the  hour  of 
noon,  a  train  slid  into  the  Moorgate  Street 
Station  and  Eleanor  Broughton  stepped  from 
the  carriage. 

Sands  was  standing  at  the  exit  gate, 
waiting  for  her.  They  mounted  the  stairs 
and  made  their  way  along  Finsbury  pavement, 
which  at  that  hour  of  the  day  is  always 
thronged  with  hungry  clerks  and  employes 
of  the  various  wholesale  houses,  rushing  to 
their  favorite  eating-places,  of  which  there 
are  not  a  few  in  that  vicinity  of  Fore  Street 
and  London  Wall,  though  many  had  to  be  con- 
tent with  the  historic  '^Scribe's  dinner"  dur- 
ing their  midday  respite  from  the  desk.  This 
was  Eleanor's  first  visit  to  the  residence  of 
Dr.  Falconer.  She  had  noted  in  crossing  to  the 
east  of  Finsbury  Square,  the  Mihtia  Barracks 
in  the  City  Road,  to  the  north  of  Finsbury 
Square.    She  remembered  that  it  was  adjacent 

28 


Lud,o;ate  Hil 


Accessory  After  the  Fad  29 

to  Bunhill  Fields  Burial  Ground,  called  the 
''Campo  Santo"  of  dissenters.  It  contains 
the  tombs  of  DeFoe,  Bun  van,  George  Fox 
(the  Quaker),  Dr.  Watts,  the  mother  of  the 
Wesleys,  Ptitson   the  antiquarian,  and  others. 

More  than  a  hundred  thousand  persons  have 
been  buried  in  this  cemeter}^  of  less  than  four 
acres.  Murray's  lists  cover  fifteen  pages  of 
eminent  persons  born  and  buried  in  London, 
naming  the  houses  in  which  they  lived,  places 
and  sites,  and  remarkable  events  in  their  lives. 
The  book  is  really  wonderful  and  it  is  worth 
while  for  anyone  to  spend  time  in  its  perusal. 

A  smart  page  answered  their  ring  at  the 
door  bell,  and  Miss  Falconer  met  them  in  the 
hall. 

^^  Luncheon  was  only  awaiting  your  arrival. 
Come  with  me,  my  dear,"  she  welcomed, 
after  Mr.  Sands  had  introduced  the  family. 

When  they  were  seated  at  the  table  Miss 
Falconer  remarked,  ^^We  have  all  been  very 
much  interested  in  the  account  that  Mr. 
Sands  has  given  us,  of  your  experience  with 
Dr.  Barlow  as  a  ghostly  visitant.  lie  says 
that  you  could  really  feel  his  presence,  though 
you  did  not  see  him  and  that  he  appeared  to 
your  mental  perception  no  more  after  you 


30  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

had  prayed  for  him.  You  must  have  an 
abiding  faith  and  beUef,  Miss  Eleanor,  for 
such  a  proceeding  to  have  occurred  to  you/' 
"To  tell  the  truth,  Miss  Falconer,  I  did  not 
know  what  else  to  do.  My  dear  father  always 
said,  When  in  doubt,  pray;  remember  this, 
my  little  girl.'  His  words  flashed  into  my 
mind  when  I  was  wondering  what  I  could  do. 
It  seems  to  me  we  must  say,  'Have  we  faith — 
and  have  we  it,  moreover,  as  our  gov^erning 
principle?'  The  circumstances  of  our  bearing 
the  Christian  name  affords  a  fair  presumption 
that  we  are  believers  in  God's  written  reve- 
lation ;  that  we  receive  the  Bible  as  that  which 
it  professes  to  be,  and  which  a  vast  accumu- 
lation and  diversity  of  evidence  proves  it 
to  be — the  veritable  Word  of  God;  that, 
whatever  be  the  mysteries  it  contains,  we 
give  them  our  hearty  credence  in  the  fullest 
confidence  in  the  character  of  God;  that  He 
would  not  vouchsafe  His  creatures  a  reve- 
lation which  they  could  not  help  misunder- 
standing. 

"We  believe  therefore  in  God,  the  Father, 
not  because  we  know  the  secret  of  the  divine 
essence,  but  because  the  Scriptures  declare 
unto  us  His  being  and  attributes.    We  be- 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  31 

lieve  in  God^  the  Son,  our  Saviour,  not  be- 
cause we  can  explain  the  mode  of  generation, 
but  because  the  Scriptures  proclaimed  Him 
as  the  only  begotten,  the  beloved  Son  of  the 
Father.  We  believe  in  God,  the  Holy  Ghost, 
not  because  this  article  of  faith  is  free  from 
mystery,  but  because  the  Scripture  plainly 
speaks  of  one  divine  Person  proceeding  from 
the  Father  and  the  Son,  the  Regenerator, 
Enhghtener  and  Sanctifier  of  the  people  of 
God! 

''On  like  grounds  we  believe  in  the  resur- 
rection of  the  body,  the  day  of  judgment,  the 
eternit}-  of  rewards  and  punishments;  not 
that  we  thoroughly  apprehend  these  matters 
but  because  they  are  delivered  in  the  Word  of 
God. 

"These  are  matters  that  call  for  the  exercise 
of  faith  on  our  parts  and  every  Christian 
gives  it.  Is  there  no  country  where  sincerity 
is  free  from  suspicion  and  affection  not  sub- 
ject to  change?" 

''  I  beUeve  you  are  sincere  in  your  theology, 
Miss  Broughton,''  agreed  Dr.  Falconer,  "and 
I  am  sure  that  your  prayers  would  do  my  old 
friend.  Dr.  Barlow,  much  good  if  anything 
in  this  world  could  benefit  him  now  that  he 


32  Accessory  After  the  Fad 

has  left  us.  I  knew  him  well.  He  was  a 
great  physician,  his  knowledge  embracing  a 
wonderful  grasp  of  chemistry,  materia  medica 
and  therapeutics.  His  working  knowledge  of 
pathology  and  anatomical  organic  structure 
was  almost  beyond  belief. 

''His  percentage  of  successful  results  after 
abdominal  section,  I  believe  to  have  been 
greater  than  that  of  any  surgeon  now  living. 
I  think  he  was  more  conservative  with  regard 
to  operating,  than  either  O'Brien  of  Chicago 
or  Weaver  of  Philadelphia.  I  have  seen  them 
both  operate  and  their  technique  is  beyond 
criticism.  Yet  all  American  surgeons  will 
remove  an  appendix,  even  though  it  is  not 
diseased  or  the  cause  of  the  trouble.  I  have 
seen  Dr.  Barlow  operate  because  of  peri- 
typhlitis— there  was  a  normal  appendix  which 
he  refused  to  remove. 

'''Nature  put  that  there  for  some  wise 
purpose,'  he  said,  'though  we  are  ignorant 
of  its  use.^ 

"He  walled  up  the  surrounding  tissues, 
cleansed  the  parts  thoroughly.  'As  we  do 
not  know  anything  better  to  do,'  he  said, 
'  we  shall  let  the  peritoneum  with  his  phago- 
cytes and  opsonins  do  the  rest  of  the  work.' 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  33 

He  closed  up    the  incision  and    the    patient 
recovered.     I  meet  him  quite  frequently. 

''  The  last  time  I  whs  in  the  United  States, 
I  visited  the  old  home  of  Dr.  Ephriam  Mc- 
Dowell, at  Danville,  Kentucky,  and  saw  the 
httle  office  where  he  performed  the  first 
ovariotomy,  in  June  1809.  A  brave  Kentucky 
woman,  Mrs.  Crawford,  had  consented  to  sub- 
mit to  a  trial  of  the  operation.  Her  relatives 
and  friends  were  much  incensed  that  he  should 
attempt  what  to  ever^'one  appeared  to  be  a 
hopeless  undertaking  and  meant  death  to 
the  victim  of  his  recklessness.  They  gathered 
around  the  building  and  demanded  that  he 
should  not  murder;  that  he  should  not  juggle 
with  the  life  God  had  given  in  order  to  try  ex- 
periments for  his  own  gratification.  Argument 
with  the  crowd  w^as  wdthout  avail;  it  stolidly 
held  its  ground  and  declared  that  if  the  opera- 
tion proved  fatal,  as  each  member  believed 
it  would,  then  the  life  of  Dr.  McDowell 
should  pay  the  penalty  at  their  hands. 
With  death  at  the  hands  of  an  infuriated 
mob  staring  him  in  the  face,  and  the  life  of  a 
devoted  w^oman  hanging  in  the  balance,  he 
proceeded  resolutely  upon  the  difficult  task. 
Without  a  precedent  in  the  history  of  surgery, 


34  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

since  the  world  began,  without  the  use  of 
anaesthetics,  with  no  guide  in  any  book  or 
from  any  man^s  experience,  with  no  assistant 
to  share  the  glory  of  his  success  or  to  partici- 
pate in  the  responsibiUty  and  penalty  of  his 
failure,  he  undertook  and  performed  this 
splendid  operation.  In  sight  of  where  he 
achieved  his  great  renown,  rest  his  bones, 
beneath  a  plain  white  shaft  erected  to  his 
memory  by  a  grateful  profession.  An  appli- 
cation has  also  been  made  to  have  his  statue 
placed  in  the  Hall  of  Fame  at  Washington. 
Dr.  Barlow  never  lost  a  chance  to  compliment 
the  great  Kentuckv  surgeon,  Dr.  Ephriam 
McDowell." 

"Since  Dr.  Barlow  died,  I  have  had  no 
regular  medical  helper  in  my  work,"  said 
Eleanor. 

''I  thought  of  that  and  intended  to  speak 
about  it,"  answered  Dr.  Falconer.  ''Mr. 
Sands  mentioned  it.  He  has  so  much  con- 
fidence in  me,  whether  I  deserve  it  or  not. 
He  said  only  last  night,  'If  you  had  been  at 
Mrs.  Ogilvie's  she  would  not  have  lost  her 
little  one.'  I  am  a  busy  man.  Miss  Broughton, 
but  if  I  want  a  favor  or  any  work  done  I 
always  go  to  a  busy  man,  and  therefore  I 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  35 

want  you  to  send  all  your  elemosenary  work 
to  me.  Send  me  a  list  by  mail  or  call  up  on 
the  telephone  and  advise  me  and  I  will  do  the 
best  that  I  can  for  any  of  your  poor  patients 
and  proteges." 

''Well,  Doctor,  it  would  be  a  great  relief 
to  me  if  you  would  call  and  see  Mi^.  Ogilvie. 
She  lives  with  her  family  of  ten  children  at 
No.  144  Nicholas  Street,  Hoxton.  Her  hus- 
band is  a  marine  engineer  and  away  a  great 
deal  of  the  time.  He  is  at  home  now,  suffering 
with  rheumatism  and  waiting  for  a  }:)roper 
union  of  two  broken  ribs  which  were  attended 
to  b\^  the  steamer  surgeon.  It  has  taken  all 
his  earnings  to  keep  the  family  going.  They 
are  in  needy  circumstances  and  now  the  ex- 
penses for  their  httle  Bertha's  funeral  will  be 
very  hard  on  them  and  makes  help  necessary." 

''I  know  the  place  well,"  said  the  Doctor. 
^'I  have  had  several  patients  on  that  street. 
It  is  the  longest  one  in  London  without  a 
turning  on  it,  except  at  each  end,  just  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  in  length.  It  extends  from 
St.  John's  Road  on  the  east  to  the  New  North 
Road  on  the  west  end.  It  has  one  little 
chandler's  shop  carrying  most  everything  in  a 
small    way.     I    remember    my    father   being 


36  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

called  hurriedly  early  one  morning,  on  account 
of  a  terrible  accident  that  had  happened  in 
the  family  who  kept  the  tavern  on  the  corner 
of  Nicholas  Street  at  the  New  North  Road 
end.  I  will  go  and  see  Mrs.  Ogilvie's  family, 
while  you  are  all  at  the  Tower  and  other  places 
you  intend  to  visit.  I  must  be  off,  too,  if  you 
will  excuse  me.  I  heard  Henry  drive  up  in 
front  of  the  house  some  time  since  and  I  very 
seldom  keep  him  waiting.  Will  see  you  all  at 
dinner.     Au  revoir.^^ 

The  good  Doctor  hurried  out  to  his 
brougham.  He  read  his  journals,  reviews,  pa- 
pers, even  translated  the  Iliad  from  Latin  to 
English  and  from  English  to  Latin  again 
while  making  his  rounds.  Mental  exercise 
of  this  character  kept  him  with  a  mind  always 
alert  to  notice  pathologic  changes. 

His  carriage  now  stopped  in  front  of  the 
Nicholas  Street  house.  He  was  out  and  using 
the  knocker  in  a  moment. 

The  door  was  opened  by  a  rather  stout 
middle-aged  woman  with  a  tired  look  on  her 
florid  countenance,  which  also  showed  where 
rivulets  of  tears  had  flowed.  Her  e3^es  were 
red,  too,  and  she  brushed  her  face  with  her 
apron  before  speaking. 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  37 

^' I  am  Dr.  Falconer.  Miss  Broughton  re- 
quested me  to  call  and  see  you  all/'  he  intro- 
duced. 

''Oh,  yes,  Doctor,  come  in.  How  good  of 
^er!  My  Jimmy  is  very  hill.  We  lost  dear 
little  Bertha  last  week  and  I'm  hafraid  the 
disease  is  catching  and  want  to  know^  what  we 
are  to  do  habout  the  other  children. 

"  Poor  Jimmy  w^as  hover  to  'is  haunt's, 
near  the  Helephant  and  Carstle  at  Camber- 
well,  and  'e  lost  'is  'bus  money  wot  'e  'ad  und 
'e  wouldn't  hask  'is  haunt  to  give  'im  any  more. 
'E  thought  'e  could  get  a  ride  'ome  on  a  wagon 
or  somethink  and  it  rained  all  the  way  and 
that  night  'e  'ad  a  chill.  I  don't  know^  what 
I  have  done  for  the  Lord  to  be  a-punishin' 
of  me  Uke  this.  I  carn't  think  of  nothink. 
Jimmy  was  born  while  Dick,  my  'usban',  was 
away  in  Hindia  and  he  do  cast  some  nasty 
slurs,  w^'en  'e's  been  'avin'  a  little  drop  too 
much.  But  'e  alius  says  'e  don't  mean 
nothink  w^'en  'e's  hover  it." 

The  good  woman  blushed  a  deeper  red  and 
smothered  a  sob. 

'^I  'ad  ten,  Doctor,  and  now^  there's  only 
nine,  the  Lord  'as  taken  one  away. 

^'I    had   twins   twice;    the   two   holdest   is 


38  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

gals,  Martha  and  Mary;  then  come  Bertha 
which  is  gone  'ome  to  glory,  hand  Jimmy  was 
her  twin;  then  the  triplets,  Elijah,  Lionel 
and  Timothy,  and  Johnny  and  Philip  and 
Andrew  which  is  the  last,  two  years  old  now/' 

''  How  can  you  tell  the  triplets  apart,  Mrs. 
Ogilvie?''  queried  the  Doctor.  ^^They  cer- 
tainly look  as  much  alike  as  three  beans  in  a 
pod.'' 

"■  That's  wot  everybody  says,  but  you  are  a 
doctor  und  I  can  tell  you  'ow  it  'appened," 
said  Mrs.  Ogilvie.  ''Dick,  'e  took  me  to  the 
Zoological  Gardens  about  six  months  before 
the  children  was  born  und  it  marked  'em, 
Doctor.  I  can  see  the  helephant  in  Elijah's 
face  and  the  lion  in  Lionel's,  an'  the  tiger  in 
Tim's.  You  see  'ow  I  named  'em.  Doctor. 
The  first  letter  of  each  name  stands  for  hele- 
phant, lion  and  tiger,  though  Lionel,  'e  do 
be  gettin'  it  all  und  a  bit  on  the  hend  hke. 

''But  come  into  the  back  room.  Doctor, 
and  see  Jimmy.  We  are  heatin'  in  the 
kitchen  und  fixed  the  dining-room  up  for  a 
bed-room  for  Jimmy,  so  I  won't  'ave  to  be 
running  hup  and  downstairs  hall  the  time. 
'  Hits  'ard  fer  'im  to  breathe.  Doctor,  und  'e 
can't  talk  above  a  w'isper." 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  39 

Dr.  Falconer  found  he  had  a  case  of  capil- 
lary bronchitis  to  contend  with  and  the 
prognosis,  in  his  judgment,  pointed  toward 
another  bereavement  in  the  family. 

He  prepared  some  medicine  in  a  glass,  to 
be  given  every  fifteen  minutes,  and  said  that 
he  would  return  again  in  an  hour  and  arrange 
for  a  nurse  to  meet  him  there. 

''She  will  help  you  bear  the  burden,  Mrs. 
Ogilvie,  and  will  remain  during  the  day  and 
be  replaced  by  another  who  will  stay  all 
night.  I  will  not  conceal  from  you  the  fact 
that  the  symptoms  are  very  grave.  Jimmy 
is  in  a  very  serious  condition  and  you  must  be 
prepared  for  the  worst." 

''Oh  Doctor,  don't  say  Jimmy  is  goin' 
to  be  taken  from  me!  My  little  Jimmy! 
Doctor,  I  can't  part  from  'im." 

"Now  don't  let's  climb  the  stile  before  we 
get  to  it,  Mrs.  Ogilvie,"  said  the  Doctor. 
"We  will  fight  the  case  as  best  we  can  and 
if  a  fatal  result  occure,  we  will  have  the 
satisfaction  of  knowing  that  nothing  was  left 
undone.  Be  calm,  good  Mother,  be  calm, 
or  you  will  be  down  yourself;  then  who  will 
care  for  the  rest  of  the  bairns?  I  have  a  few 
visits  to  make  and  will  telephone  for  a  nurse 


40  Accessory  After  the  Fad 

to  meet  me  here  on  my  return.  Keep  the 
room  warm,  but  don^t  let  the  air  get  close 
and  stuffy.     Open  the  door  frequently." 

Dr.  Falconer  went  to  a  tobacconist's  shop 
nearby  where  there  wrs  a  telephone  booth, 
and  called  the  London  Hospital.  He  ordered 
a  nurse  to  come  at  once  and  arrange  for 
another  to  take  her  place  in  the  morning. 
He  had  a  case  in  DeBeauvoir  Square  and 
another  at  Stoke  Newington  that  he  would 
have  to  see  and  still  another  in  the  Ball's 
Pond  Road,  and  he  thought  he  could  attend 
to  all  and  be  back  within  the  hour.  On  his 
return  the  Doctor  found  that  the  nurse,  one 
of  his  most  trusty  heutenants,  had  just 
arrived  and  was  then  in  the  front  room  re- 
moving her  wraps  and  putting  on  her  uni- 
form for  the  battle.  The  hospital  clerk  had 
been  told  to  send  this  particular  nurse  and 
the  Doctor  said  that  he  wished  to  speak  priv- 
ately with  her  before  she  started  in  to  work. 

So  Mrs.  Ogilvie  ushered  him  into  the  front 
room  where  their  piano  and  family  heirlooms 
were  situated.  Much  does  the  English  mother 
of  either  high  or  low  degree  love  her  parlor, 
where  guests  are  received  and  all  the  family 
congregate  on  Sunday  in  their  best  clothes. 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  41 

"We  have  a  bad  case,  Miss  Bessie,  and  the 
boy  is  going  to  die,  I  am  afraid ;  if  we  win  out, 
you  shall  have  all  the  glory.  It  is  a  matter 
of  constant  vigilance.  I  have  ordered  a  tank 
of  oxygen,  and  you  must  use  the  inhaler  and 
drops  every  fifteen  minutes  all  night.  Keep 
a  record  on  the  temperature  chart  every  hour. 
I  shall  be  here  again  at  nine  o'clock  and  bring 
your  supper  from  my  house.  We  have  a 
hard  fight  and  small  chance  of  success.  His 
temperature  was  one  hundred  and  three  just 
now.  Here  are  your  instructions  on  this 
card.     Good-bve.'' 


CHAPTER  V 

The  cyanotic  tint  on  the  patient's  face 
did  not  give  the  Doctor  much  encouragement 
on  his  return,  though  he  had  spoken  guardedly 
to  Eleanor  at  the  dinner  table  and  assured  her 
that  ever3^thing  possible  would  be  done  by 
himself  and  the  nui'se.  He  had  concluded, 
however,  that  unless  a  reaction  set  in  and 
stimulated  the  nerve  centers  nothing  but  a 
fatal  result  could  be  expected. 

It  was  the  afternoon  of  the  next  day.  The 
nurse  had  been  faithful.  The  mother  had 
seen  the  growing  shadow  on  the  fixed  face 
of  the  boy.  She  was  in  the  parlor  on  her 
knees,  leaning  on  the  old  arm-chair  where 
Dick  always  sat  when  at  home.  The  Doctor 
went  to  the  door  to  call  her  but  hesitated  as 
he  heard  her  voice  in  prayer. 

'^O  God,  don^t  take  little  Jimmy.  Don't 
take  little  Jimmy,  Lord!  Thou  hast  said, 
'There  shall  no  evil  plague  come  nigh  thy 
dwelhng,'    but    there    is    Bertha    gone    and 

42 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  43 

Jimmy  going  now.  O  God,  spare  little  Jimmy ! 
Oh,  I  can't  part  from  him.  Spare  'im,  good 
Lord;  for  in  thee,  O  Lord,  have  I  put  my 
trust!" 

"Come,  Mother,"  whispered  the  Doctor 
gently,  ^'God  is  going  to  take  little  Jimmy 
home  and  you  must  be  quiet.  Jimmy  will 
know  3^ou." 

As  is  often  the  case  when  the  capillaries 
rupture  and  the  blood  is  oxygenated,  there  is 
for  a  few  moments  a  change  to  consciousness 
as  the  lamp  of  life  flickers  out. 

''Come,  Mummy,  come  quick!"  called  Jim- 
my. "  I  see  Bertha  and  all  the  little  angels 
and  Jesus.  They  are  calling  me.  Oh,  I  see 
Bertha  holding  out  her  hands.  Good-bye, 
Mummy.     Kiss  me." 

For  a  moment  the  face  of  her  boy  was 
radiant  and  seemed  to  be  illuminated  from 
within;  then  came  the  shadow  and  the 
blue  cast  again.  The  soul  of  little  Jimmy 
had  departed.  Instead  of  the  expression 
of  misery  and  despair  the  Doctor  had 
looked  for,  the  mother  commenced  calmly 
to  assist  the  nurse  in  arranging  for  the  last 
»ad  rites. 

''  Ah,  Doctor,"  she  said,  "  I  remembered  how 


44  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

David  put  on  sackcloth  and  ashes  und  prayed 
to  God  that  the  first  son  of  Bathsheba  should 
be  spared.  He  then  got  up  and  dressed  him- 
self after  the  child  died.  ^He  will  not  return 
to  me  but  I  shall  go  to  him/  he  said.  I  feel 
that  impression,  too.  Bathsheba  bore  him 
another  son,  Solomon,  the  greatest  king  that 
ever  hved  and  the  wisest  man.  The  Lord 
gave  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away,  blessed 
be  the  name  of  the  Lord. ' '' 

"God  be  thanked,  Mrs.  Ogilvie,  that  you 
are  resigned.  You  have  all  the  others  to 
care  for.  I  will  send  Austin  down,  to  take 
charge  of  the  funeral.  It  was  Abney  Park 
Cemetery,  at  Stamford  Hill,  where  your  little 
girl  was  interred,  was  it  not?'^ 

''Yes,  Doctor,  we  buried  her  there  only 
last  week,  and  now  Jimmy  will  lie  with  his 
twin  sister.     Bless   the   bairns." 

The  good  Doctor  was  driven  home  feeling 
sad,  for  he  was  one  of  the  most  tender-hearted 
of  men.  His  own  family  loss  had  made  him 
constantly  ready  to  bear  the  burdens  of  the 
poor  he  came  in  contact  with,  and  yet  in 
his  hospital  service  he  was  accustomed  to  the 
passing  of  patients. 

It  was  with  a  feeling  of  deep  sorrow  that 


Accessoi^  After  the  Fad  45 

he  telephoned  to  Eleanor  that  the  end  had 
come  to  her  little  protege.  He  did  not  say 
that  could  he  have  had  an  earlier  chance 
he  might  have  saved  the  lad. 


CHAPTER  VI 

Doctor  Clarence  Whittaker,  surgeon  for 
the  Four  Boosters  Mining  Company  of  French 
Gulch,  California,  was  entertaining  his  friend, 
Wilham  Roberts,  M.  D.,  of  the  Last  Gasp 
placer  proposition  at  Bodie.  Dr.  Roberts 
had  just  been  relating  the  circumstances 
connected  with  the  hanging  of  De  Roche,  in 
the  early  days  of  the  camp,  by  a  citizens' 
committee. 

^^Our  dear  old  bachelor  friend,  Judge 
Richard  Jones  Milner,  who  arrived  after  all 
had  left  the  scene,  cut  him  down  and  wheeled 
the  body  into  a  woodshed.  The  Judge  says, 
^It  was  not  a  judicial  but  a  very  judicious 
hanging.''^ 

''Speaking  of  lynching,"  said  Dr.  Whit- 
taker, ''the  most  successful  and  best  paying 
bit  of  minor  surger}^  I  ever  did,  was  for  a 
chap  named  Mike  Cuhn,  who  escaped  being 
lynched  by  the  skin  of  his  teeth.  He  had 
been  hanging  around  Bill  Toomb's  hotel  and 

46 


Accessory  Aftei'  the  Fact  47 

bar  for  several  months,  playing  stud  poker 
and  making  a  fairly  good  thing  when  the 
'suckers'  were  in  evidence. 

'^  There  was  a  bunch  from  the  All  Saints 
ranch  in  town.  Some  English  aristocrats 
own  the  place.  They  called  it  a  'raunch/ 
and  paid  for  it,  as  such  pronunciation  and 
accent  comes  high  in  these  parts. 

'^Well,  Mike  thought  the  bunch  were  easy 
marks,  as  he  had  cleaned  out  a  couple  of 
them  on  the  previous  pay-day.  One  of  the 
crowd,  Bert  Welsford,  stood  behind  young 
Barrington  who  had  laid  down  his  hand. 

''Bert  had  noticed  that  he  held  the  ace  of 
hearts  and  four  small  ones.  The  rest  stayed 
in.  After  the  betting,  Mike  showed  four 
aces  and  the  deuce  of  clubs.  Without  taking 
his  hand  from  his  coat  pocket,  Bert  Welsford 
shot  a  ball  through  the  knuckle  joint  of  the 
second  finger  of  Mike^s  right  hand.  At  the 
same  time,  he  laid  his  left  hand  on  Edgar 
Barrington's  cards  and  showed  the  ace  there. 
The  crowd  jumped  on  Mike  at  once  and  were 
going  to  lynch  him  but  Bill  interfered.  He 
said  he  would  refund  all  money  won  now  and 
at  the  previous  sitting,  as  he  thought  Cuhn 
would  suffer  enough.     Well,  Mike  Cuhn  came 


48  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

to  my  bungalow  and  wanted  a  ver}^  careful 
job  done,  one  that  would  not  leave  him  with 
a  badly  disfigured  hand.  He  had  one  thou- 
sand shares  of  stock  in  the  Rag  Baby  mine, 
which  he  had  bought  at  twenty  cents  a  share, 
and  he  promised  to  turn  that  over  to  me  if  I 
would  take  him  to  the  hospital  and  operate  on 
his  hand. 

^'I  carefully  removed  the  metacarpal  bone, 
avoiding  the  superficial  veins,  and  when  that 
wound  healed  there  was  hardly  any  scar. 
While  in  the  hospital  he  sent  to  San  Francisco 
and  obtained  several  pairs  of  gloves  with 
only  three  fingers  on  the  right  hand,  there- 
fore the  missing  finger  was  hardly  noticeable. 
To  complete  the  story  that  Rag  Baby  stock 
went  to  eighteen  dollars  per  share  and  I  sold 
out.  The  mine  was  finally  absorbed  by  a 
syndicate  and  is  a  heavy  producer  now." 

"Well,  let  me  tell  you  the  story  Judge 
Milnor  told  me  about  the  purchase  of  that 
All  Saints  ranch,"  said  Doctor  Roberts. 
"The  Judge  used  to  take  a  three  finger 
drink  and  your  operation  puts  me  in  mind  of 
it.  Well,  the  Judge  says  he  was  sitting  in 
Rawlinson's  office  on  Market  Street,  San 
Francisco,  and  talking  about  the  All  Saints 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  49 

ranch.  He  had  just  mentioned  that  he  had 
heard  of  a  customer.  Rawhnson  said,  There 
are  five  thousand  acres  in  the  place  and  over 
one  thousand  acres  of  available  land  that 
could  be  put  under  cultivation  by  irrigation, 
and  there  is  plenty  of  water  to  do  it  with  by 
just  a  mile  of  ditching  from  the  river.  There 
are  fine  log  buildings  for  all  purposes.  They 
even  had  a  gasoline  plant  to  run  dynamos  for 
fight  and  power,  everything  up-to-date.' 
He  said  he  would  take  ten  thousand  dollars 
for  the  ranch,  one-half  down  and  the  balance 
properly  secured. 

''Well,  talk  about  pronunciation  coming 
high.  Rawlinson  used  to  call  it  a  'ranch.' 
He  speaks  of  it  now  tenderly  and  with  rev- 
erence as  a  'rawnch.' 

"The  change  came  about  in  this  way. 
Two  English  swells  came  into  the  office. 
One  of  them  who  spoke  first  said,  'We  have 
been  directed  to  you,  Mr. — er — Rollinson,  to 
see  if  you  had  a  'rarnch'  on  your  list  for  sale.' 

"'Oh,  yes,'  replied  Rawlinson.  (He  men- 
tally put  the  price  for  a  'rarnch'  up  to  twenty 
thousand  dollars.) 

'"My  friend  here,  the  Honorable  Percy 
Somerset,  youngest  son  of  Lord  Fitz  Maurice,' 


50  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

continued  the  first  speaker,  Vants  to  get  hold 
of  something  good/ 

^^  ^Yes,  Mr.  RoUinson,  we  want  a  rawnch  you 
know,  that  we  won't  be  ashamed  of,  by  Jove.' 

"^I  have  the  very  place  for  you,  my  lord,' 
said  the  astute  real  estate  man,  ^^  up-to-date 
in  every  respect,  all  modern  conveniences, 
solid  log  buildings,  surfaced  and  finished. 
Plenty  of  grass,  about  one  thousand  of  the 
five  thousand  acres  can  be  put  under  culti- 
vation, so  you  can  raise  everything  for  the 
place.  The  balance  can  be  brought  to  a  high 
state  of  perfection  by  irrigation.  I  will  make 
the  deal  with  you  in  pounds  sterHng.' 

"^Ah,  that's  a  good  fellow,'  purred  the 
Honorable  Percy.  'I  carn't  get  used  to  the 
narsty  dollars,  somehow.' 

'^SJust  two  pounds  an  acre,  my  lord,  dirt 
cheap  at  the  price,'  continued  RawHnson. 
The  buildings  and  all  of  the  personal  property 
on  the  place,  live  stock  and  farm  implements, 
will  be  thrown  into  the  deal.  That's  a  bona 
fide  offer  of  the  whole  thing,  just  as  it  exists.' 

"^Nothing  to  be  moved,  is  there — aw — 
Rollinson?' 

^^^  Quite  so,  my  lord,'  Rawlinson  went  on, 
'not  a  stick  to  be  taken  off  the  place.     The 


Accessory  After  the  Fad  51 

Judge  here,  Judge  Milner,  my  lord,  will  make 
out  the  papers  for  you.  Just  two  pounds  aa 
acre.  Ten  thousand  pounds  will  make  your 
lordship  the  owner  of  one  of  the  finest  places 
on  earth.' 

'^^Aw,  they  carn't  sneer  at  a  rawnch  Uke 
that.  Can  they  Reggy?'  said  Percy.  'Well, 
I  have  the  Bank  of  England  notes  here  with 
me  to  pay  for  it.  Make  out  the  deed,  Rol- 
linson.' 

'''With  pleasure,  your  lordship,  and  your 
'rawnch'  will  be  a  paradise.' 

"The  Judge  made  out  the  papers  and  Raw- 
linson  gave  him  five  hundred  dollars  as  a 
bonus,  which  he  thought  was  easy  money. 
But,  as  he  says,  'beware  of  the  accent  and 
pronunciation  when  you  go  to  purchase 
ranch  property.  A  slip  of  the  tongue  may 
double  the  price  in  dollars,  or  even  change 
that  advance  into  pounds  sterling.  ^  ^' 

"Tricks  in  all  trades,  old  man.  Pass  the 
whiskey,"  laughed  Dr.  Whittaker. 

"Tricks,  Doctor,  why  the  heathen  Chinee 
is  not  in  it  with  a  well-educated  real-estate 
man,"  grinned  Roberts. 

"They  have  a  fine  place,  though.  The 
All  Saints  ranch  is  making  good.     The  boys 


52  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

are  straight  as  a  string.  Everything  high 
class.  They  have  the  'dough/  too,  and  don't 
you  forget  it/'  Whittaker  added. 

"Say,  Doc.  The  Judge  has  a  fine  place 
at  Bridgeport.  Hot  spring  for  baths  and  a 
trout  stream  near  by.  The  fishing  is  just 
dandy,  too.  What  do  you  say,  shall  we  go 
and  see  him?  He's  just  crazy  to  have  us  visit 
him.  Says  just  to  telephone  or  wire  him  that 
we  are  coming  and  he  will  give  us  the  time  of 
our  lives.  He  knows  how  to  do  it,  too. 
Comes  of  good  stock,  the  Judge  does.  His 
Virginia  ancestors  would  rise  up  in  the  family 
vault  and  reproach  him  if  he  did  not  do  well 
by  us,  he  says." 

"Dear  old  Judge,  God  bless  him."  Whit- 
taker murmured.     "We'll  go  tomorrow." 

"A  night-cap.  Doctor.  'Here's  to  the 
Judge,  and  our  visit' — and  now  we  must  turn 
in  and  get  some  sleep.  Heaven  prevent  there 
being  a  premature  blast,  a  fall  of  ground,  or 
any  of  the  boys  getting  'bunged  up'  tonight. 
We  need  to  sleep  if  we  are  going  to  visit  the 
Judge  tomorrow.  I  must  arrange  with  Dr. 
Rogers  at  the  next  mine  to  look  after  my 
work  for  a  few  days." 


CHAPTER  VII 

The  trip  to  the  Tower  was  made  as  ar- 
ranged. Eleanor  Broughton,  Miss  Constance 
Falconer,  her  niece,  Elsie  Morton  from  Brom- 
ley in  Kent,  and  Walter  Sands  occupied  the 
Falconer  family  carriage. 

Eleanor  was  very  anxious  about  Mrs. 
Ogilvie's  sick  boy.  She  really  carried  their 
burdens  upon  her  mind  more  than  was  neces- 
sary. She  had  passed  the  case  over  to  Dr. 
Falconer  and  had  full  confidence  in  his  judg- 
ment and  skill,  so  that  she  was  determined  to 
enjoy  her  visit  to  the  Tower.  They  drove 
through  Moorgate  and  Princess  Streets,  past 
the  Bank,  Mansion  House  and  Royal  Exchange ; 
through  King  William  Street,  turning  down 
Fish  Street  Hill  at  the  side  of  London  Bride, 
passing  the  monuments  erected  from  Wren^s 
design  to  commemorate  the  great  fire  of  1666, 
on  their  way  to  Lower  Thames  Street. 

''That  is  BilUngsgate  Fish  Market,"  said 
Sands,  pointing.     ''The  fish  wives  and  mon- 

53 


54  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

gers  are  credited  with  originating  that  pe- 
cuhar  vernacular  used  by  irate  cabbies  and 
other  beUigerents  all  over  the  EngUsh-speak- 
ing  world,  and  here  is  the  Customs  House. 
It  is  quite  interesting  to  go  on  the  quay  and 
note  the  difference  between  high  and  low  tide 
there.  Well,  here  we  are  at  Tower  Hill.  This 
is  the  site  where  so  many  noted  individuals 
lost  their  heads. ^' 

They  were  escorted  through  the  White 
Tower,  built  by  the  Conqueror,  saw  the  place 
where  the  little  Princes  were  confined,  looked 
at  the  suits  of  ancient  armour  and  observed 
the  festoons,  imitating  flowers  and  rosettes, 
constructed  with  the  swords,  pikes  and  other 
implements  of  warfare  stored  up  there  for 
ages. 

"  Oh,  I  feel  as  if  one  should  go  through  the 
Tower  once  as  a  child,  and  once  after  reach- 
ing adult  age,  as  a  matter  of  education,  ^^  said 
Miss  Falconer.  "  Like  my  beloved  Canterbury 
where  I  attended  boarding  school,  there  is 
much  of  historical  significance  to  be  seen  and 
stored  up  in  the  mind,  the  stronghold  of  the 
Kentish  men  and  the  first  English  Christian 
city,  now  the  metropolitan  see  of  the  whole 
land.     Its  principal  attraction  is  the  Cathe- 


'^  r>  h  I  I 


The    Tower  of  London 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  55 

dral.  It  was  the  scene  of  Beckett^s  murder 
in  1170,  his  resting  place  being  utterly  des- 
troyed in  1538,  by  decree  of  Henry  VIII. 

'^A  remnant  of  mosaic  pavement  in  front 
of  the  shrine  still  shows  where  it  stood.  The 
stained  glass  windows  of  the  13th  century  are 
worthy  of  remembrance.  There  is  also  the 
site  where  Henry  II  did  penance  for  Beckett's 
murder  and  submitted  to  be  scourged  by  the 
bishop  and  the  monks.  He  also  passed  the 
whole  night  fasting.  It  is  a  pleasant  walk  to 
Whitstable  where  are  situated  the  famous 
oyster  beds,  whose  bi-valves  are  advertised 
for  sale  in  every  restaurant  and  fishmonger's 
shop  in  London.^' 

They  had  gone  through  the  Tower  and 
passed  out.  Sands  had  plucked  a  leaf  from 
the  famous  ivy  vine  and  they  were  walking 
toward  their  carriage  when  they  were  accosted 
by  a  guide  or  verger,  wearing  a  bright  red 
gown  trimmed  with  fur,  and  carrying  a  long, 
rod  or  wand  in  his  hand.  He  had  a  fine 
black  beard  streaked  with  gray  and  reaching 
to  his  waist.  No  hat  covered  his  bald  and 
shiny  crown.  He  walked  erect  and  appeared 
to  be  about  sixty  years  of  age. 

"  Would  you  and  your  lydies  like  to  go  into 


56  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

the  Royal  Chapel?  It  is  closed  today,  but 
there  is  a  party  of  military  hossifers  and  their 
lydies  wot  ^ave  a  special  ticket  and  your  party 
can  go  in  too,  if  you  Uke.'' 

^' Let's  go,"  suggested  Sands. 

''I  have  another  idea,  also,''  remarked 
Eleanor.  ''After  seeing  the  Chapel,  we  can 
embark  for  Westminster  on  a  river  steamboat 
from  the  Tower  Bridge.  We  get  a  fine  view 
of  St.  Paul's  and  the  Thames  Embankment; 
the  best  view  of  the  House  of  Parliament  is 
from  the  river,  also.  The  carriage  can  meet  us 
at  the  Westminster  Bridge  landing.  I'll  tell 
the  coachman." 

They  went  into  the  Chapel  and  the  guide 
allowed  the  military  party  to  look  after  them- 
selves, while  he  pointed  out  for  Miss  Falconer 
and  the  othere  the  tombs  of  the  various  royal 
personages  buried  there,  as  indicated  b}^  the 
brass  plates  on  the  floor  over  which  they 
walked.  They  viewed  the  altar  and  turned 
back,  making  for  the  entrance  again,  and 
there,  standing  like  a  sentinel  on  duty,  with 
his  wand  held  upright  between  his  right  arm 
and  body,  his  hand  extended  in  front,  palm 
upward,  forming  a  cup-shaped  contribution 
box,  stood  their  guide.      Sands  had  considered 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  57 

whether  he  would  dare  risk  affronting  this 
venerable  official  by  the  offer  of  a  tip,  but 
now  all  doubt  was  set  at  rest,  so  he  shpped  a 
couple  of  florins  into  the  expectant  palm  and 
received  a  grateful  '^Thanky,  sir.'^ 

They  walked  to  the  boat  landing  and 
boarded  a  Greenwich  steamer  plying  between 
that  point  and  Westminster. 

Sands  was  much  interested  in  the  river 
scenery  and  noted  the  dipping  funnels  as  the 
boat  passed  under  the  bridges. 

Eleanor  directed  attention  to  the  Temple 
Church  near  the  site  of  Temple  Bar,  the 
Church  of  the  Knights  Templars,  1185,  and 
the  Temple  Gardens  where  Plantagenet 
plucked  the  white  rose  and  Somerset  the 
red.*  The  Thames  Embankment,  with  Cleo- 
patra's needle,  was  also  seen  to  good  advan- 
tage. 

'^  They  have  a  very  young  pilot  to  steer  the 
steamer  on  this  crowded  river,''  declared 
Sands,  who  had  been  listening  to  the  boy 
standing  by  the  air  shaft  over  the  engine- 
room,  as  he  called  orders  for  the  various 
landings :  ''Ease'er — back'er — stop'er — turn'er 
starn — go  hon'ead,"  and  so  forth. 

*i^hakespeare's  Henry  VI,  II,  4. 


58  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

"Look  at  the  captain  on  the  bridge  and 
note  the  movement  of  his  hand/'  laughed 
Eleanor,  "  and  you  will  readily  see  where  your 
youthful  pilot  gets  his  directions." 

Sands  took  a  lesson  from  the  opening  and 
closing  of  the  captain's  hand. 

"I  was  only  six  or  seven  years  old  when 
Papa  called  the  attention  of  Albert  and  my- 
self to  the  captain's  'mouthpiece'  as  he  called 
the  boy." 

"I  wonder  why  I  never  noticed  it  before," 
remarked  Sands. 

The  boat  was  now  nearing  the  Westminster 
Bridge  landing-place,  and  they  noted  the 
beautiful  view  of  the  Parliament  Houses 
and  in  particular  the  St.  Juhan  Tower,  so 
attractive  to  all  American  visitors. 

Parhament  was  in  session  and  they  had  a 
permit  for  the  galleiy,  but  as  it  was  late  they 
decided  to  walk  about  and  just  take  a  peep 
at  the  various  points  of  interest.  They  were 
all  hungry  and  would  have  none  too  much 
time  before  the  seven  o'clock  dinner  at  Fins- 
bury  Square,  and  Eleanor  was  becoming 
anxious  to  get  a  report  from  Dr.  Falconer 
concerning  the  sick  boy  at  Nicholas  Street. 

The  carriage  was  waiting  for  them  and  they 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  59 

were  driven  across  to  the  Abbey  and  hurriedly 
walked  through  the  transepts,  noted  the 
resting-places  of  the  remains  of  kings  and 
queens,  saw  the  coronation  chair  and  read  a 
number  of  the  tablets  in  the  Poets'  Corner. 

It  was  while  standing  there  that  Sands 
became  ghastly  pale,  reeled  and  almost  fell, 
as  he  saw  the  profile  of  a  lady  dressed  in 
half-mourning  and  leading  by  the  hand  a 
little  boy  about  three  years  of  age. 

He  dropped  his  gloves,  stooped  to  pick 
them  up  and  then  turned  in  the  opposite 
direction  to  which  the  lady  was  going.  None 
of  the  party  seemed  to  notice  his  embarass- 
ment  or  the  lady  who  had  been  the  cause 
of  it.  He  mentioned  the  lateness  of  the  hour 
and  they  hurried  for  the  carriage. 

On  the  way  home  Eleanor  spoke  of  the 
intended  visit  to  the  British  Museum,  which 
would  have  to  be  put  off  until  some  time  in 
the  future. 

'^I  want  Elsie  to  see  those  busts  of  the 
Roman  emperors,  Nineveh  marbles,  the  mum- 
mies and  the  coin  room.  Fancy  looking  at 
handsome  gold  coins  that  were  minted  hun- 
dreds of  years  before  the  birth  of  Christ." 

'^ Elsie  has  to  return  home  tomorrow;  but 


60  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

we  must  certainly  go  to  the  British  Museum 
on  her  next  visit.  Don't  forget  it,  Elsie. 
I  am  ashamed  to  admit  that  I  have  never 
been  there  myself.  All  due  to  the  indifference 
of  us  Cockneys,  passing  by  ancient  land- 
marks every  day  that  people  come  from  the 
other  side  of  the  world  to  view  with  rever- 
ence/'  remarked  Miss  Falconer. 

The  carriage  was  driven  up  to  the  main 
entrance  of  the  Finsbury  Square  residence. 
The  hall  door  was  opened  by  the  page  that 
was  waiting  for  them.  The  doctor  was  found 
in  the  dining  room  standing  in  front  of  the 
blazing  fire,  reading  his  Evening  Standard. 
''  Did  you  think  we  were  never  coming  home, 
Francis?"  said  his  sister. 

^'Oh  no,  Constance,  you  are  too  careful 
that  the  cook  shall  be  punctual  to  the  minute 
on  her  schedule  to  be  a  transgressor  yourself." 
''Well  now.  Doctor!  Miss  Constance  never 
said  a  word  about  time  or  hurried  us  at  all," 
cried  Eleanor. 

"You  did  not  happen  to  notice  the  move- 
ment of  her  hand  as  she  looked  at  her  watch 
before  I  spoke  and  called  attention  to  the 
time,"  corrected  Sands. 

''Oh,  you   were   the  land   pilot   after  the 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  61 

fashion  of  the  boy  on  the  boat,  eh?  Thank 
you  very  much  for  the  information,  Mr. 
Sands." 

They  were  seated  and  Eleanor  waited  for 
the  Doctor  to  say  something  about  Mrs. 
Ogilvie's  sick  boy,  but  he  simply  informed 
them  that  he  had  been  there  twice  and  was 
going  again  at  nine  o'clock  to  take  a  lunch 
for  his  nurse,  since  they  had  a  bad  case. 

''  I  don't  want  to  give  you  much  encourage- 
ment. Miss  Eleanor,"  he  offered,  "for  I  am 
afraid  it  is  a  foregone  conclusion  that  the 
boy  will  follow  his  sister,  though  the  cases 
are  altogether  different. 

"We  are  doing  our  best  and  I  do  not  wish 
to  anticipate  a  fatal  termination  for  the  poor 
mother's  sake,  but  I  am  afraid,  veiy  much 
afraid,  it  will  be  so.  If  we  can  get  over 
tomorrow,  perhaps,  he  may  get  well.  I  have 
two  more  cases  to  visit  tonight  and  must 
start  at  once. 

"I  told  Henry  to  have  the  cook  prepare 
lunch  for  Miss  Bessie,  my  nurse.  Constance, 
will  you  inquire  if  Henry  has  put  it  in  the 
carriage?  Will  you  be  here  on  my  return, 
Miss  Eleanor?" 

"Oh  no.  Doctor!     I  must  start  soon  my- 


62  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

self.  Mr.  Sands  is  going  to  take  me  home  by 
the  Underground.^' 

"Good-bye,  then/'  he  ended.  "I  shall 
'phone  you  tomorrow  and  let  you  know  how 
your  patient  gets  along.'' 

Eleanor  left  an  invitation  for  Dr.  Falconer, 
his  sister  and  Walter  Sands  to  take  dinner  with 
her  uncle,  General  Broughton,  and  herself 
at  Bryanstone  Square  on  the  next  Sunday 
evening  after  service  at  St.  Paul's,  which  they 
had  planned  to  attend. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

At  half  past  two  on  the  following  Sunday 
afternoon,  the  family  carriage  at  the  Fal- 
coner's drew  up  in  front  of  the  Moorgate 
Street  Station  of  the  Metropolitan  Railway. 

Mr.  Sands  alighted  and  ran  downstairs  to 
the  platform.  A  train  was  due  to  arrive 
shortly  and  he  expected  Eleanor  Broughton 
to  come  by  that  particular  one. 

The  Bishop  of  London  was  to  preach  at 
St.  Paul's  Cathedral  that  afternoon  and  the 
services  commenced  at  a  quarter  past  three. 

The  train  arrived  bringing  Eleanor,  which 
made  a  party  of  four  as  Dr.  Falconer  was  one 
of  the  number.  They  drove  along  Moorgate 
Street  to  Princess  Street.  Here  they  turned 
to  the  right,  through  the  Poultry  to  Cheap- 
side,  past  Bow  Church  and  to  the  point  where 
Cheapside  is  merged  into  St.  Paul's  Church- 
yard, the  General  Post  Office  on  St.  Martin's 
le  Grand,  Newgate  Street  and  Paternoster 
Row.     The  last  mentioned  is  sandwiched  in 

63 


64  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

between  the  north  side  of  St.  Paul's  Church- 
yard and  Newgate  Street.  It  has  been  a 
source  of  unrest  at  the  breakfast  table  of  all 
the  writers  of  prose  and  poetry.  Bacon, 
Shakespeare,  Milton,  Byron,  Goldsmith,  I^yt- 
ton,  Thackeray,  Dickens,  and  many  others 
felt  the  power  of  this,  at  one  time  the  greatest 
literary  centre  in  the  world. 

It  had  been  the  headquarters  of  reviewers 
and  critics,  who  tore  the  flesh  from  the  bony 
structure  of  their  fiction  and  displayed  the 
ghastly  skeletons  to  pubHc  view.  Their  criti- 
cism uncovered  everything  which  the  authors 
had  desired  to  hide  under  a  bushel,  while 
they  deliberately  snuffed  out  the  candle 
which  might  have  cast  a  radiant  glow  upon 
such  efforts. 

In  spite  of  the  rough  manner  in  which 
many  of  the  books  were  handled,  they  are 
a  power  among  us  today,  while  their  reviewers 
are  forgotten. 

St.  Paul's  Cathedral  stands  in  a  square 
formed  by  the  termination  of  Cannon  Street 
on  the  south  side  and  Cheapside  on  the  north, 
while  at  the  western  aspect  is  the  commence- 
ment of  Ludgate  Hill,  leading  to  Farringdon 
Street,  Blackfriar's  Bridge,  Fleet  Street,  the 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  65 

Strand,  Trafalgar  Square,  and  all  West  End 
points. 

The  party  now  entered  the  Cathedral  at 
the  north  gate.  There  was  already  a  large 
crowd  standing,  and  being  very  slowly  pro- 
vided with  seats  either  on  the  ground  floor 
or  in  the  gallery.  They  moved  forward  into 
the  crowd,  waiting  for  their  chance  of  seats. 
While  pressed  on  all  sides,  Walter  raised  his 
hat  above  his  head  as  if  to  keep  it  from  being 
crushed,  but  in  the  palm  of  his  hand  he  had  a 
five  shilling  piece.  He  saw  a  pew-opener, 
a  woman,  dressed  in  the  austere  garments  of 
a  widow,  and  as  she  glanced  in  his  direction 
he  slightly  waved  his  hat. 

He  caught  her  eye,  and  she  saw  the  coin 
in  his  hand,  she  made  her  way  through  the 
waiting  throng  and  came  near  to  him. 

^' Your  seats  are  reserved,  sir!"  she  asserted. 

Sands  and  his  party  followed  her.  There 
were  four  front  seats,  well  upholstered,  always 
kept  for  civic  authorities  and  members  of 
the  nobility,  and  they  were  conducted  directly 
to  these  seats.  Sands  waited  in  the  aisle 
for  the  trio  to  take  their  places  and  as  the 
widow  handed  him  a  hymn  book,  she  received 
the  reward  of  her  watchful  observation. 


66  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

^^How  did  you  manage  to  secaire  those 
seats  for  us,  Walter?''  Eleanor  asked  as  they 
drove  toward  her  home. 

"  Oh,  that  was  another  instance  of  watching 
the  captain's  hand/'  smiled  Sands.  "I  no- 
ticed that  the  widow  belonged  to  a  society  of 
which  I  was  a  member,  so  I  gave  her  the 
sign  and  surrendered  the  token." 

^'You  are  an  apt  scholar.  I  shall  have  to 
develop  your  education  still  further,"  an- 
swered the  girl. 

When  they  were  seated  at  the  dining  table, 
Eleanor  enquired,  ^^How  did  you  enjoy  the 
Bishop's  sermon,  Dr.  Falconer?" 

^'Yery  much,  indeed,"  replied  the  Doctor. 
'^I  heard  him  preach  in  Exeter  once  and  I 
thought  at  the  time  it  was  extemporaneous 
and  the  most  learned  and  scholarly  discourse 
I  had  ever  heard  in  my  life.  Today,  I  was 
able  to  notice  that  his  lordship  was  a  past 
master  in  the  art  of  reading  manuscript  in 
the  pulpit.  I  was  able,  too,  to  anticipate 
his  well-rounded  periods,  rising  inflections  and 
elocutionary  pyrotechnics,  as  well  as  gestures. 
I  knew  when  his  hands  were  to  be  raised,  as 
if  in  invocation  of  blessing,  his  eyes  turned 
upward,    or   his   foot   to   be   stamped   as   if 


The   Houses  of  raiiiainent  from  Westminster  liritlge 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  67 

crushing  out  all  sin,  or  his  hands  to  be  brought 
down  with  a  vigorous  slap  upon  the  desk, 
while  he,  at  the  same  time,  passed  his  type- 
written sheet  along  on  to  the  pile  already  read. 

''Why  do  I  tell  you  this,  you  may  ask.  It 
is  because,  unfortunately  for  me,  it  was  the 
same  sermon  I  heard  him  deliver  at  Exeter. 

''Perhaps  you  will  remember  reading  of 
that  wonderful  Charity  sermon,  the  shortest 
on  record,  preached  by  Dean  Swift,  from  the 
text,  'He  that  giveth  to  the  poor,  lendeth 
to  the  Lord.'  This  sermon  contained  all  the 
elements  of  oratory,  introduction,  argument 
and  peroration. 

"He  said,  'Brethren,  you  have  heard  the 
proposition.  If  you  are  satisfied  with  the 
security,  down  with  the  dust.'  The  audience 
responded  liberally,  we  are  told.'' 

"Doubtless  because  they  were  excused 
from  a  long-winded  exhortation,"  Eleanor 
determined. 

"We  want  you  to  give  us  some  more  of 
your  experience  in  psychologic  phenomena, 
Miss  Broughton,"  remarked  Constance.  "  Both 
the  Doctor  and  myself  are  deeply  interested. 
I  am  prepared  to  admit  that  I  am  a  firm 
believer   in   telepathic    transfer   of    thought. 


68  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

In  fact,  I  believe  that  the  time  is  not  far 
distant  when  the  objective  brain  of  a  teacher 
will  be  able  to  transfer  to  the  subjective  brain 
of  a  student  thoughts  in  any  language,  though 
they  are  unable  to  speak  it.  The  meaning 
will  be  translated  to  their  subconscious  under- 
standing. 

^^  Why  not?  The  same  actions,  ideas,  habits 
and  customs  have  to  be  expressed  in  all  coun- 
tries. The  people  simply  eat,  drink,  sleep, 
work  and  play.  That  covers  the  lifetime  of 
all  mankind.  Then  they  pass  into  the  great 
Beyond  and  join  the  silent  majority.  Do  these 
disembodied  spirits  communicate  with  us?'' 

"The  children  of  this  world  are  afraid  of 
ghosts,  as  they  call  them,  and  do  not  give  the 
spirits  a  fair  chance, '^  remarked  the  Doctor; 
"  but  go  on.  Miss  Eleanor,  and  tell  us  some  of 
your  experiences.'' 

Eleanor  replied,  "You  have  asked  me  to 
tell  you  something  about  psychic  phenomena. 
Perhaps  it  would  be  better  for  me  to  say 
'Instruct  me.'     None  of  us  knows  much. 

"There  are  a  few  basic  or  fundamental 
ideas  that  have  seeped  through  our  dullness. 
All  we  can  say  is  that  hypnotism,  mesmerism, 
suggestion   for   coercion    or   for    therapeutic 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  69 

purposes  have  at  the  present  time  very^  little 
value.  The  power  of  the  objective  brain 
over  the  subjective  is  only  effective  progress- 
ively, with  regard  to  the  strength  of  will, 
moral  force  and  education  of  the  subject, 
relatively  speaking. 

'^What  a  person  would  not  do  because  of 
their  moral  and  religious  convictions,  they 
cannot  be  made  to  do  by  hypnotic  control. 
Many  physiologic  functions  that  are  not 
viciously  perverted  can  be  controlled  by  that 
power.  This  can  be  done  by  the  stronger 
objective  mind  of  another  or  by  one's  own 
cerebral  force,  termed  auto-suggestion  or 
self-hypnotism — in  other  words,  the  power  of 
mind  over  matter. 

"The  text  is  found  in  the  words  of  the 
Saviour,  when  we  consider  the  impressions 
of  psychic  phenomena :  'Blessed  are  the  pure 
in  heart  for  they  shall  see  God.'  Not  only 
see  Him  present  in  all  nature's  great  expanse, 
but  know  Him,  realize  Him.  You  will  recall 
the  Unes  of  Frances  Anne  Kemble: 

'A  sacred  burden  is  the  life  ye  bear, 
Look  on  it,  lift  it,  bear  it  solemnly, 
Stand  up  and  walk  beneath  it  steadfastly, 
Fail  not  for  sorrow,  falter  not  for  sin, 
But  onward,  upward,  till  the  goal  ye  win.' 


70  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

"  Many  a  simple,  ignorant  person,  because 
of  a  bodily  infirmity,  may  go  to  a  learned 
doctor.  That  weak  one  is  overawed  by  his 
seeming  great  knowledge  and  worldly  wise- 
ness  and  being  in  need  of  help  out  of  the 
slough  of  physical  despondency,  trusts  him 
because  of  his  advertised  ^great  study  and 
investigation/ 

''  Now  let  the  pseudo-disciple  of  Esculapius, 
Hippocrates,  Galen,  et  at,  try  to  soil  the  integ- 
rity of  this  humble  follower  of  the  lowly 
Nazarene,  and  where  is  he?  The  soul,  poor 
in  this  world's  riches,  either  of  mind  or  body, 
has  a  code. 

^^^  Render  unto  Caesar  the  things  that  are 
Caesar's,  and  to  God  the  things  that  are 
God's.'     Thou  shalt  not  steal,'  etc. 

^^You  cannot  see  the  wind  on  a  stormy 
day,  but  you  can  see  the  effects  of  its  force 
as  the  clouds  are  driven  before  it.  Many  a 
shabby  garment  and  apparently  obscure  mind 
contains  a  large  portion  of  spirit  force,  easily 
discerned,  while  the  highest-power  micro- 
scope would  fail  to  detect  any  trace  of  such 
presence  in  some  of  the  human  octopi,  repres- 
senting  the  forces  of  combined  greed. 

^'The  disciples  were,  in  the  opinion  of  the 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  71 

Pharisees,  a  lot  of  poor,  ignorant  men  but 
how  soon  were  their  spiritual  perceptions 
illuminated,  when  in  contact  with  the  'Light 
of  the  World?'  They  had  not  been  engaged 
in  barter  and  adulteration;  their  living  had 
almost  entirely  come  direct  from  nature's 
boundless  store." 

''That  is  a  very'  pretty  theorv'  of  yours, 
Miss  Broughton,"  said  the  Doctor,  ''and  you 
offer  the  fifth  chapter  of  the  Gospel  according 
to  St.  Matthew  to  prove  it.  Well,  I  shall  not 
contradict  you.  Though  of  course,  if  this 
were  a  debate  and  I  had  the  opposite  side,  I 
should  introduce  some  of  the  contradictory 
ideas  of  modern  skeptics.  Only  natural, 
you  know.  But  to  return  to  the  present, 
and  without  offering  any  personal  objection 
to  your  thesis,  I  shall  simply  remark  that 
some  people  have  different  ideas.  I  was  just 
looking  over  my  copy  of  the  Los  Angeles  Times, 
dated  ^Monday,  March  28th,  1910.  They 
claim  to  have  'God's  ambassador'  over  there 
in  the  person  of  John  D.  Rockefeller.  But 
here  is  the  paper,  read  it  for  yourself." 

"  Associated  Press,  night  report.  New  York. 
*Mr.  Rockefeller,  accompanied  ])y  Senator 
Aldrich,  attended  services  at  the  Fifth  Avenue 


72  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

Baptist  Church.  Here  is  what  one  lady 
said  to  him  as  they  left  the  church.  'You 
are  God^s  special  ambassador  on  earth  and 
a  benefactor  to  all  humanity.' 

''And  he  did  not  deny  the  imputation. 
Doubtless  he  felt  that  it  was  true.  A  man 
does  not  commence  poor  and  make  over  a 
billion  of  dollars  without  being  specially 
endowed    with   power." 

"Oh!  John  D.  Rockefeller  is  all  right,  he 
likes  golf  and  the  simple  life  now.  The  load 
was  more  than  he  could  carry  conscientiously 
at  his  age  and  he  desires  to  distribute  the 
burden/'  said  Sands. 

"His  money  has  done  much  good  in  the 
world,"  remarked  the  Doctor. 

"Here,  take  the  paper.  Miss  Eleanor,  and 
read  it  out  loud  for  them  all  to  hear.  Here  it 
is,  on  the  front  page." 

"'This  was  an  ideal  Easter  in  Greater 
New  York,'  she  read.  'Thousands  thronged 
Fifth  Avenue  and  Riverside  Drive  for  the 
annual  Easter  parade,  resplendent  with  the 
brilliant  hats  and  smart  frocks. 

"'John  D.  Rockefeller,  accompanied  by  Sen- 
ator Aldrich  of  Rhode  Island,  attended  ser- 
vices in  the  Fifth  Avenue  Baptist  Church. 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  73 

"^As  Mr.  Rockefeller  left  the  church,  the 
congregation  crowded  about  him  on  the  steps. 

'^  'God  bless  you,  Mr.  Rockefeller,'  cried 
one  woman,  who  seized  him  by  both  hands. 
Mr.  Rockefeller  looked  embarrassed  and  mur- 
mured, ^  Thank  you  very  much.' 

'^  ^You  are  God's  special  ambassador  on 
earth  and  a  benefactor  to  all  humanity,' 
whispered  another. 

''  'I  should  like  to  have  you  all  come  up  and 
take  dinner  with  me,'  parried  Mr.  Rocke- 
feller. 

'''His  chief  comment  after  the  service  was 
mostly  upon  the  sermon.  By  actual  count, 
he  said  seventeen  times  to  members  who 
came  up  to  shake  his  hand,  that  '  the  sermon 
was  \ery  good.' " 

Sands  returned  from  the  Bryanstone  Square 
mansion  in  the  carriage  with  Dr.  Falconer 
and  his  sister  to  the  Finsbury  Square  residence. 

He  went  directly  upstairs  to  his  room, 
although  they  both  had  urged  him  to  partake 
of  a  late  supper  with  them.  He  entered  his 
bedroom,  locked  the  door,  turned,  and  cast 
himself  upon  his  knees  at  the  bedside. 
Stretching  his  arms  out  upon  the  bed,  he 
burst  into  teai^. 


74  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

'^  How  long,  0  Lord,  how  long?''  he  moaned. 
^'When  will  the  end  come?  Every  time  I 
have  sought  to  quaff  the  cup  of  joy  and 
happiness,  it  has  been  snatched  from  my 
grasp.  All  my  hopes  of  happiness  and  pros- 
perity were  torn  from  me,  my  heart  broken 
and  I  am  suffering  torments  in  this  place! 
What  can  I  do?     Is  there  no  help  for  me?" 

His  paroxysm  of  grief  having  subsided,  he 
retired  to  rest. 


CHAPTER  IX 

About  three  years  before  the  meeting 
between  Eleanor  Broughton  and  Walter  Sands 
near  the  Royal  Exchange,  in  London,  Edward 
Leopold  ]\Iarsden,  tw^enty-six  years  of  age, 
fullback  and  graduate  in  Arts  of  Harvard 
University  had  been  in  his  second  term  of  the 
medical  department.  He  had  just  received 
a  telegram  from  his  father,  Daniel  Marsden, 
cashier  of  the  Dwdghton  National  Bank  of 
Dwighton,  Massachusetts,  saying  that  he  would 
^^have  to  return  home  at  once.^^ 

On  his  return  he  found  his  father  in  bed, 
and  learned  from  the  family  physician  who 
had  also  had  a  specialist  from  Boston  in 
consultation,  that  his  parent  had  received 
an  apoplectic  stroke.  It  was  not  necessarily 
fatal,  he  was  told,  but  a  prolonged  rest  and 
complete  cessation  from  worry  were  abso- 
lutely imperative. 

Edward  had  been  brought  up  in  the  bank 
and  carefully  instructed  by  his  father  in  all 

75 


76  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

the  financial  details.  He  was  an  expert  ac- 
countant and  it  was  expected  that  he  would 
follow  a  financial  career.  Being  of  an  obser- 
vant and  inquiring  turn  of  mind,  curi- 
osity concerning  the  anatomical  structure 
and  physiologic  function  of  the  human  family 
had  led  him  in  the  direction  of  medicine. 

There  would  be  a  good  opening  in  his 
home  town,  for  Dr.  P.  H.  Strong,  his  pre- 
ceptor, the  family  physician,  had  become 
rich  there.  He  had  recently  married  his 
second  wife  and  was  anxious  to  retire  from 
professional  cares  and  make  an  extended 
European  tour. 

The  condition  of  Daniel  Marsden,  the 
trusted  cashier  of  the  bank,  had  been  brought 
before  a  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Directors 
who  had  full  knowledge  of  the  capability  of 
his  son  Edward,  he  having  at  different  times 
filled  temporarily  every  clerical  position  in 
the  bank  and  had  even  held  his  father's 
place  for  three  months  while  Mr.  Marsden 
and  his  wife  had  made  a  trip  to  Buenos  Ay  res. 

The  directors  voted  unanimously  to  appoint 
Edward  Marsden  cashier  of  the  bank,  at  the 
same  salary  received  by  his  father,  and  retire 
the  older  Mr.  Marsden  on  a  pension  to  which 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  77 

he  was  now  entitled  for  his  many  years  of 
faithful  service. 

It  was  a  great  blow  to  Edward  to  be  obliged 
to  cut  short  his  medical  education,  but  he 
realized  that  it  was  his  duty  now  to  take  the 
helm  and  become  the  mainstay  of  the  family, 
since  his  father's  business  activity  had  been, 
for  a  time  at  least,  curtailed. 

He  could,  he  thought,  have  his  ''den^^ 
fitted  up  as  a  laboratory  and  continue  his 
biological  studies.  His  interest  in  bacteri- 
ology need  not  abate;  every  man  should  have 
a  ''hobby''  outside  of  the  daily  ''grind"  at 
his  vocation.  So  he  set  up  his  cabinet  and 
arranged  a  place  for  his  microscope  and 
cultures  that  he  might  study  the  elusive 
bacillus  and  micrococcus. 

Edward  Marsden  took  up  the  work  to  the 
entire  satisfaction  of  all  the  officials  and  the 
patrons  of  the  bank.  He  had  the  financial 
standing  of  every  business  man  in  his  mind, 
having  personally  made  a  careful  study  of 
their  resources.  He  had  kept  track  of  all 
loans  and  knew  in  a  moment  when  a  mer- 
chant was  reaching  dangerous  ground  and 
placing  the  bank  in  jeopardy  by  a  too  risky 
use  of  his  credit. 


7S  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

A  strict  look-out  for  the  assets  when  the 
liabilities  seemed  too  great  for  the  business 
done,  kept  him  in  a  position  to  advise  the 
directors  when  diplomatically  to  decHne  to 
extend  further  credit. 

Daniel  Marsden,  having  recovered  sufficient- 
ly to  take  daily  walks  and  drives,  had  con- 
cluded to  make  a  European  tour,  accompanied 
by  his  wife. 

It  had  been  his  ambition  for  years  and  now 
the  opportunity  had  come  to  him.  He 
dragged  his  right  foot  slightly  and  the  grip 
of  his  hand  was  weak.  He  handled  his  knife 
and  teacup  in  a  rather  awkward  manner  but 
the  clot  was  evidently  being  absorbed  and  it 
seemed  to  his  physician  that  a  sea  voyage 
and  the  change  of  scene  would  benefit  him. 

He  travelled  listlessly  through  Europe, 
saw  the  sights  of  London  in  a  dazed  sort  of 
way.  Mrs.  Marsden  consulted  her  Baedeker 
and  planned  the  itinerary  to  suit  the  course 
they  had  laid  out  when,  ever  since  their 
wedding,  they  had  talked  of  the  prospective 
trip. 

The  voyage  to  Buenos  Aires  had  been 
made  to  look  after  some  securities  belonging 
to  the  bank  and  their  expenses  were  paid 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  79 

by  the  bank  directors  who  had  a  trusted 
employe  take  his  vacation  and  attend  to  their 
business  at  the  same  time. 

Now  the  chance  for  the  European  tour  had 
come  but  he  could  not  enjoy  it.  It  was  work 
and  worry  when  he  wanted  to  be  still  and 
rest  but  his  gallantry  and  affection  for  his 
wife    prevented    his    shortening    their    tour. 

They  wandered  through  the  Louvre  and 
saw  pictures  in  Bruges,  cathedrals  in  Florence, 
Naples,  Venice  and  the  leaning  Tower  of 
Pisa,  the  Vatican,  and  Colosseum  at  Rome. 

They  spent  some  time  at  Lucerne  Lake 
and  environs  but  when  he  reached  home  it 
was  only  to  relapse  into  a  condition  of  quiet 
despair.  His  occupation  was  gone,  his  men- 
tal activity  was  handicapped  and  not  having 
provided  himself  with  ^^hobbies^^  that  would 
stimulate  cerebral  activity,  outside  of  finance, 
he  soon  gave  the  various  Masonic  bodies  to 
which  he  belonged  and  his  pastor,  the  Rev. 
Richard  Carruthers,  a  chance  to  put  him  to 
rest  in  the  family  vault. 

The  directors  found  that  the  change  of 
cashiers  had  benefited  the  business  of  the 
bank.  Edward  had  taken  the  position  as 
head   of   the  family   and    his   mother   went 


80  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

on  with  the  daily  routine  after  his  father^s 
funeral. 

He  noticed  that  she  seemed  to  be  failing 
and  needed  to  be  relieved  of  many  household 
cares,  and  he  began  to  consider  the  advis- 
ability of  asking  Isobel  Carruthers,  whom  he 
had  long  admired,  to  become  his  wife  and 
take  up  the  work  that  his  mother  was  ready 
to  resign. 

He  spoke  to  his  mother  on  the  subject  and 
she  readily  assented  to  the  proposal  to  bring 
home  a  daughter  for  her  and  said  that  she 
knew  of  no  one  to  whom  she  would  rather 
see  him  married  than  the  Rector's  daughter. 


CHAPTER  X 

Edward  had  promised  to  drive  Isobel  over 
to  a  lawn  party  given  by  some  members  of 
the  church,  who  lived  at  a  delightful  farm 
residence  some  four  miles  distant,  in  the 
beautiful  Housatonic  Valley.  This  lay  be- 
tween the  Hoosic  Mountains  and  the  Taconic 
Range  which  divides  the  state  from  her 
western  neighbor,  New  York. 

The  road  was  built  through  a  charming, 
fertile  region;  the  profile  of  the  country  was 
undulating.  There  were  delicious  surprises 
at  every  turn  in  the  road.  A  U\ang  spring  on 
the  hillside  with  ice-cold  water  fell  in  a  steady 
stream  from  a  crevice  between  two  rocks.  An 
iron  drinking  ladle  was  attached  to  the  stone 
basin.  Beautiful  ferns  were  growing  all 
around  in  rich  profusion  and  luxuriance. 

At  a  turn  in  the  road  the  water  had  been 
piped  from  the  spring  to  a  drinking  trough 
for  horses.  At  some  parts  of  the  road  the 
branches  of  the  trees  met  overhead.  Beauti- 
ful gravel  roads  there  were,  on  which  there 

81 


82  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

never  was  any  mud,  the  slope  of  the  country 
carrying  away  any  excess  of  moisture.  It 
was  the  time  when  the  full  harvest  moon 
peeped  through  the  trees  or  at  turns  of  the 
road,  and  seemed  to  rise  up  over  a  hill, 
looking  into  their  faces  and  then  disappearing 
into  a  glen  amongst  luxuriant  vegetation. 

They  heard  the  sound  of  the  locusts,  the 
trickling  of  water,  and  an  occasional  owFs 
screech,  or  the  whir  of  a  homing  bird.  Now 
the  thought  that  summer  would  soon  be 
over  brought  visions  of  comfortable  parlors, 
blazing  fires,  soft  Ughts  and  books  that  had 
been  neglected. 

Edward  Leopold  Marsden  had  made  the 
same  mistake  that  many  tardy  lovers  have 
done  before.  He  had  spoken  no  words  of 
love  to  Isobel  although  there  had  seemed  to 
be  a  tacit  understanding  between  them.  It 
was  understood  that  he  was  to  be  her  escort 
to  all  the  games.  If  she  went  to  a  football 
tournament  she  wore  his  colors.  None  of 
the  other  young  men  advanced  a  claim  when 
Edward  Marsden  was  available.  It  is  true 
that  Isobel  Carruthers  would  have  given  over 
to  Edward  Marsden  all  the  sentiment  that 
she   retained   from   her  school-girl   compact 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  83 

with  Eleanor  Broughton,  if  the  same  had 
been  properly  sought.  She  had  looked  upon 
Edward  as  a  favored  brother  and  bestowed 
upon  him  a  sisterly  regard. 

The  younger  set  at  Dwighton  and  vicinity 
was  a  close  corporation.  Every  young  man 
in  the  community  considered  it  his  especial 
duty  to  guard  the  morals  and  integrity  of 
every  girl  by  seeing  that  she  was  not  led  into 
temptation  "by  getting  into  the  society  of 
risque  feminity. '^  Every  visiting  girl  was 
entertained  by  the  boys  to  drives  and  picnics. 
If  she  had  no  objection  to  be  hugged  and 
kissed,  so  far  so  good  for  the  boys.  They  had 
no  cause  to  complain;  but  each  boy  told  every 
other  boy,  and  their  sisters  were  informed  that 
they  must  make  no  visits,  even  though  en- 
gagements had  already  been  made  and  that 
those  particular  girls  must  not  be  invited  in 
the  future.  The  male  element  of  this  cor- 
poration were  a  well-trained  squad  of  the 
Don  Juan  stripe,  many  of  whom  had  reached 
the  grade  of  dishonorable  mention  in  the  class, 
but  the  women  were  protected.  They  must 
be  as  Caesar  decided  his  wife  must  be,  "not 
even  suspected.''  He  divorced  his  second 
wife  who  was  false  with  Clodius.     The  of- 


84  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

fender  was  brought  to  trial  (the  offence  was 
terrible  and  notorious)  but  he  was  acquitted 
by  the  venal  judges.  A  word  spoken  by  the 
injured  husband  would  have  insured  his 
condemnation  but  that  word  Caesar  would 
not  speak.  He  would  not  jeopardise  his 
power  by  demanding  punishment.  Clodius 
was  murdered  later,  during  Caesar^s  absence 
from  the  country. 

These  Dwighton  men  might  go  to  different 
quarters  of  the  globe  as  missionaries,  engineers, 
explorers  or  in  the  diplomatic  service  of  their 
country  but  they  invariably  returned  to 
Dwighton  for  their  wives.  They  had  adopted 
the  aphorism  of  Patrick  Henry  that  he  "  had 
no  way  of  judging  the  future  but  by  the  past.'^ 
The  boys  had  grown  up  with  the  girls  and 
knew  their  sohd  integrity,  purity  of  mind, 
morals,  and  the  character  of  their  educational 
accomplishments,  and  that  they  would  honor 
any  position  in  which  they  might  be  placed. 
There  was  a  ^^shiboleth^^  in  this  younger  set 
that  was  strictly  adhered  to  by  them  all. 
It  was  a  compact  severe  and  platonic. 

The  phaeton  in  which  Isobel  and  Edward 
were  returning  from  the  lawn  party  had 
reached  a  gentle  eminence  at  a  turn  in  the 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  85 

road.  The  moon  had  just  peeped  up  from 
behind  a  hawthorn  hedge.  There  had  been 
silence  between  them,  each  seemed  to  be 
absorbed  in  contemplating  the  beaut}^  of  the 
night.  Edward's  left  arm,  which  had  been 
resting  on  the  back  of  the  seat,  was  raised 
and  passed  round  IsobeFs  neck  and  he  drew 
her  surprised  and  resistant  form  toward  him 
and  kissed  her  on  the  cheek. 

"How  dare  you  do  such  a  thing,''  she  cried, 
"and  to  take  such  a  mean,  contemptible 
advantage  of  me!  You  whom  I  never  sus- 
pected of  such  conduct!" 

She  then  burst  into  tears  and  sobbed  as  if 
her  heart  were  breaking. 

"Take  me  home  quickly,  or  I  will  get  out 
and  walk!"  she  commanded. 

"But,  darling — Isobel!  I  want  you  to  be 
my  wife,  my  own  sweet  wife!"  he  explained 
with  trepidation. 

None  knew  better  than  he  that  Dwighton 
girls  were  not  won  in  any  such  way  as  he  had 
adopted.  The  young  matrons  were  often 
heard  to  boast  that  they  knew  of  no  girl  in 
their  set  that  had  ever  been  kissed,  at  least 
prior  to  her  engagement,  by  any  man  outside 
the  sacred  family  circle. 


86  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

When  Edward  again  attempted  to  explain 
his  action  on  the  ground  of  matrimonial 
desires,  Isobel  sobbed,  ^'You  had  no  right  to 
entertain  any  such  expectations.  I  wish 
father  were  here/' 

Marsden  was  so  nonplussed  that  he  could 
say  no  more.  His  face  was  flushed,  and  his 
mouth  and  tongue  was  so  dry  he  could  not 
articulate. 

The  horse  drew  up  in  front  of  the  rectory 
and  without  a  word  Isobel  jumped  from  the 
vehicle  and  ran  into  the  house.  Indignant, 
and  with  tears  still  streaming  down  her  face 
she  went  directly  upstairs  to  her  own  apart- 
ments, where  she  found  the  Howell  twins, 
Dorothy  and  Gwendolyn,  awaiting  her  return, 
in  the  comfortable  wrappers  and  slippers 
they  had  exchanged  for  their  travelling  clothes. 
They  had  come  on  the  evening  train  from 
Boston  and  would  be  called  for  in  the  morning 
by  one  of  their  brothers,  who  would  drive 
them  over  to  their  father's  estate  some  six 
miles  distant. 


CHAPTER  XI 

IsoBEL,  TAKEN  unawares,  told  the  whole 
storv. 

^^bh,  Bell!  Isn't  that  just  too  lovely!'^ 
shrieked  Gwendolyn.  ^'Did  you  say  that 
you  would  marry  him?  Ed  Marsden,  too! 
All  the  girls  out  our  way  are  crazy  about  him! 
He  wouldn't  have  to  ask  me  twice." 

Then  Isobel  sat  down  on  the  couch  and 
continued  her  sobbing,  determined  to  have 
her  cry  out. 

The  girls  grew  serious  then,  and  told  her 
it  was  all  right,  and  although  her  Prince 
Charming  had,  perhaps,  been  a  little  pre- 
mature, his  intentions  were  of  the  best  and 
she  must  attribute  smyfaux  pas  to  the  natural 
embarrassment  under  which  he  was  laboring. 

"You  do  love  him.  Bell,  I  know  you  do," 
Gwendolyn  insisted.  ''We  all  know  it!  He 
never  takes  the  other  girls  anywhere.  You 
are  always  with  him.'' 

Isobel,  however,  was  not  satisfied.  ''  All 
87 


88  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

that  may  be  true/'  she  determined,  "  and  there 
is  no  one  else  I  care  for  as  much  as  he,  but  that 
was  not  the  proper  course  for  him  to  pursue. '^ 

IsobeFs  mother  had  come  from  a  Kne  whose 
men  had  been  generals,  admirals,  judges,  and 
ministers  in  the  diplomatic  service  of  their 
country,  and  she  was  not  willing  to  be  so 
lightly  won  or  to  allow  so  much  sentiment 
to  be  taken  for  granted.  The  twins  finally 
succeeded  in  persuading  her  to  be  gracious  to 
Edward  when  next  he  called  to  renew  his  suit. 

^'All  men  get  rattled  on  such  occasions,'^ 
decided  Dorothy,  the  wise. 

So  Isobel  promised  that  if  Edward  was 
properly  penitent  for  his  lapse  from  propriety, 
the  saihng  should  be  smooth.  She  talked 
about  the  lawn  party  and  the  twins  related 
their  shopping  experiences  and  told  of  the 
good  times  they  had  been  having  at  the  beach 
resort.  The  hour  being  late,  the  visitors  now 
retired  to  an  adjoining  room. 

In  the  privacy  of  her  own  chamber,  Isobel 
poured  out  the  whole  story  to  her  friend, 
Eleanor  Broughton.  Isobel  knew  that  Elea- 
nor had  in  all  probabihty  been  asleep  for  at 
least  six  hours,  but  she  knew  that  telepathic 
communication   could   continue   to   pass   be- 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  89 

tween  them.  The  never-sleeping,  subjective 
brain  would  carry  all  the  problems  to  her 
soul-mate  for  solution. 

The  girls  did  correspond  by  mail,  but  it 
was  only  to  tell  of  balls,  parties,  receptions, 
Worth  costumes,  picture  hats  and  dainty 
lingerie  and  occasionally  to  confirm  their  wire- 
less messages  concerning  the  real  things  of  life. 

As  Minerva  put  strength  into  the  heart  of 
Telemachus  that  he  might  rid  his  house  of 
the  hateful  brood  of  revelers  infesting  it  and 
go  in  quest  of  his  father,  so  the  wise  mother  of 
Edward  Marsden  poured  out  comfort  and 
encouragement  for  him. 

^'You  have  entered  upon  your  wooing 
without  the  homage  due  the  object  of  your 
affections,'^  she  told  him.  ^'Such  a  pure  and 
cultivated  soul  as  Isobel's  is  not  to  be  secured 
as  a  helpmate  and  mistress  of  a  man's  home 
and  heart  in  any  such  commonplace  manner. 
There  is  an  etiquette  for  these  cases  involving 
sentiments  of  the  heart  far  more  rigid  than 
the  unwritten  law  of  Mrs.  Grundy.  What 
girl,  sought  far  and  near  by  men  of  wealth 
and  culture,  would  give  up  her  independent 
girlhood  to  any  knight  w^ho  simply  sought  to 
appropriate  her  personality  as  you  did?     Fie 


90  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

upon  you,  sir!  Go  to  her;  beg  her  pardon  for 
your  rudeness;  tell  her  that  you  love  her  and 
request  permission  to  ask  her  hand  in  mar- 
riage from  her  father,  our  good  rector.  I  am 
sure,  from  what  I  know  of  Isobel,  your  pil- 
grimage will  be  a  successful  one/' 

The  twins  were  called  for  and  started  on 
their  way  home  before  lunch  was  served. 
Immediately  after  the  closing  of  the  bank, 
having  made  a  slight  change  in  his  apparel, 
Edward  Marsden  started  for  the  rectory. 

Isobel  was  at  home,  the  mistake  of  the 
previous  evening  was  forgiven  and  the  plan 
suggested  by  his  mother  was  accepted  without 
any  objection. 

While  Isobel  waited  in  the  reception  room, 
a  humble  and  properly  penitent  youth  sought 
the  clerg}^man  in  his  library  to  beg  the  honor 
of  becoming  his  son-in-law. 

The  Rector  had  been  at  Harvard  con- 
temporaneously with  Henry  Wadsworth  Long- 
fellow who  took  the  chair  of  Languages  and 
Belles  Lettres  in  1838,  one  j^ear  prior  to  his 
making  his  debut  as  an  author.  The  clergy- 
man entered  into  the  romance  of  the  two, 
loved  the  big  athlete  and  sympathized  with 
him  in  having  to  forego  his  medical  training. 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  91 

The  Rector  knew  how  Mrs.  Marsden  longed 
for  Isobel  in  her  lonely  home,  and  it  was 
much  more  agreeable  that  she  should  con- 
tinue to  reside  near  him.  Isobel  entered  the 
library  and  stood  by  Edward's  side  before 
her  father,  who  gave  them  his  consent  and 
blessing.  It  was  decided  that  their  nuptials 
should  be  celebrated  at  an  early  date,  in 
a  quiet  and   unobtrusive  manner. 


CHAPTER  XII 

Walter  Sands  had  come  to  Maidstone  to 
spend  the  week-end  with  Eleanor  and  General 
Broughton.  He  had  just  arrived  on  the 
evening  train.  He  walked  directl}^  from  the 
station  to  GabrieFs  Hill,  where  Joe  Randall, 
his  guide  and  fishing  companion,  kept  a 
tobacconist's  shop.  They  had  an  appoint- 
ment to  make  arrangements  and  complete 
details  for  a  raid  on  the  finny  tribe  at  a 
secluded  spot  on  the  river  Med  way,  early  the 
next  morning,  which  was  Saturday. 

"Mr.  Sands,''  petitioned  Randall,  as  soon 
as  he  appeared.  "I'd  like  to  run  up  street 
to  see  about  some  live  bait  for  our  trip.  Will 
you  take  care  of  the  shop  for  a  few  minutes? 
Look  at  the  Maidstone  Gazette^  and  smoke  a 
cigar.  I  shall  get  a  fly  for  you  to  drive  out 
to  the  General's." 

"Never  mind  the  fly,  Randall,"  answered 
Sands.  "I  am  to  meet  the  General  at  the 
barracks,  and  we  drive  out  together." 

92 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  93 

Sands,  thinking  he  would  need  some  cigars 
in  the  morning,  took  a  half  dozen  from  a  })ox 
behind  the  counter,  put  them  in  his  pocket 
and  rang  up  half  a  crown  on  the  cash  register, 
and  let  Randall  infer  that  there  had  been  a 
customer  during  his  absence.  As  he  walked 
up  toward  the  army  headquarters  later,  he 
met  Captain  Charles  Musgrove  who  was 
stationed  there  with  his  regiment  and  learned 
from  him  that  he  had  just  left  the  General. 

Sands  handed  him  a  cigar  with  the  remark, 
^'Try-  this  cigar.  Captain,  I  think  it  is  a  good 
one. 

"Thanks,  I  will  by  and  by,"  returned  the 
Captain,  as  he  slipped  it  in  his  pocket. 

Sands  had  yet  to  drop  into  Tom  Bowles^ 
gun  shop  and  see  about  some  ammunition 
and  a  gun  which  he  had  asked  the  General's 
man  to  leave  there  for  repairs.  The  matter 
had  been  attended  to.  He  gave  Bowles  a 
cigar  and  hurried  to  his  rendezvous  with  the 
General. 

He  found  that  Eleanor  had  driven  in  with 
her  uncle  to  meet  their  guest,  and  she  in- 
formed him  that  an  early  breakfast  had  been 
ordered  for  him,  also  a  bountiful  luncheon. 

Soon  after  six  o'clock  the  next  morning, 


94  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

Sands  drove  up  in  front  of  RandalFs  shop, 
and  the  pair  started  for  a  spot  on  the  river 
about  two  miles  distant.  Randall  said  that 
he  had  been  ^^  ground-baiting'^  the  place 
daily  for  more  than  two  weeks  and  thought  the 
fishing  would  be  good.  They  had  been  having 
fair  luck,  the  fish  biting  greedily,  and  as  the 
sun  had  commenced  to  warm  up,  Randall 
proposed  an  attack  upon  the  commissary 
department,  to  which  Sands  readily  agreed. 
Having  satisfied  the  cravings  of  the  inner 
man.  Sands,  who  was  reposing  comfortably 
on  the  bank,  proceeded  to  supply  the  demand 
for  nicotine,  likewise.  He  had  just  applied 
a  light  to  one  of  the  cigars  he  had  purchased 
for  himself  the  evening  before,  and  had  taken 
a  few  generous  draws  and  was  about  to  praise 
the  quality  of  the  tobacco,  when  suddenly 
with  a  short  premonitory  fizz  the  cigar  ex- 
ploded with  a  loud  report,  while  he  still  held 
the  end  between  his  teeth. 

''My  gracious,  Mr.  Sands — sir!  Where  did 
you  get  that  cigar?  Did  you  make  that 
half-crown  purchase  you  registered  and  get 
the  cigars  out  of  a  box  behind  the  counter!'' 
shouted  Randall. 

"Yes,  yes,  what  is  the  meaning  of  this? 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  95 

What  do  you  keep  such  things  for,  Mr. 
Randall?'^  demanded  Walter. 

^'  I  got  that  box  for  some  of  the  chaps  that 
wanted  'em  for  a  lark.  I'm  awfully  sorry, 
Mr.  Sands,  sir!" 

''We  will  have  to  pack  up  and  start  for 
home,  Randall.  This  experience  puts  me 
'between  the  devil  and  the  deep  sea.'  Last 
night  I  gave  one  of  those  cigars  to  Captain 
Musgrove  and  one  to  Tom  Bowles.  I  must 
hurry  up  town  and  see  what  has  become  of 
them  and  apologize,  if  their  experience  has 
been  the  same  as  mine." 

The  Captain  was  out  when  Sands  inquired 
at  the  barracks,  but  he  encountered  him  in 
front  of  the  Royal  George  Tavern. 

"Captain,  I  want  to  ask  you  about  that 
cigar  I  gave  you  last  night,"  enquired 
Sands. 

The  Captain's  face  flushed  and  he  was 
moving  on,  as  he  ripped  out  angrily,  "  I  have 

no  time  for  you  sir,  and  your  d Yankee 

tricks." 

"Captain,  I  implore  you,  for  the  General's 
sake  and  for  mine,  let  me  explain.  You 
can  take  a  shot  at  me  then,  if  you  want  to, 
and  I  will  submit." 


96  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

'^Well,  go  on,  sir/'  permitted  the  irate 
Captain. 

Sands  related  his  experience  at  the  river 
bank  and  his  discomfiture  because  of  the 
possible  afTront  to  his  friends.  The  Captain 
roared. 

^^Oh,  the  devil!"  he  burst  out.  ^'Come  in 
and  have  a  bottle  of  CUquot  and  we'll  forget 
it.  Oh,  my,  that's  too  good  to  keep!  Our 
fellows  thought  they  had  it  on  me,  but  this 
is  rich!" 

'^Captain,  I  must  go  over  to  Tom  Bowles' 
gun-shop  at  once.  I  gave  him  one  of  the 
fatal  cigars,  too." 

"By  Jove,  I  will  go  with  you,  and  see  how 
he  liked  the  smell  of  powder  on  the  firing 
line,"  bawled  the  Captain. 

Bowles  was  in  his  work-shop.  "I  smoke  a 
pipe,  you  know,"  he  said,  when  the  case  was 
explained  to  him.  "Our  clergyman  likes  a 
good  cigar,  occasionally.  He  dropped  in  to 
see  me  about  the  music.  I  sing  in  the  choir, 
you  know.  I  gave  him  that  cigar,  but  wait — 
he  has  a  telephone.     I'll  call  him  up." 

He  rang  the  bell  and  put  the  receiver  to 
his  ear.  "Give  me  the  Reverend  Doctor 
Smith,"  he  said.      "Is   that   you.   Dominie? 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  97 

This  is  Bowles.  What  did  you  do  with  the 
cigar  I  gave  you  last  night?  Don't  smoke  it, 
then.  It's  a  man-trap.  Mr.  Sands,  Captain 
Musgrove  and  I  will  be  there  in  a  few  minutes 
and  tell  you  all  about  it.'' 

The  good  clergyman  had  a  hearty  laugh 
but  was  very  glad  of  his  escape.  He  declared 
that  he  had  been  looking  forward  to  an 
enjoyable  smoke  after  his  sermon  the 
next  evening,  which  Walter  assured  him  he 
should  not  miss. 

"  I  shall  tell  Randall  I  think  it  is  sinful  to 
keep  such  things,  though,''  the  Rector  re- 
marked. 

'^No  amount  of  money  would  tempt  him 
to  have  such  stock  again.  He  is  thoroughly 
penitent,"  pleaded  Sands. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

Walter  Sands'  week-end  adventures  were 
not  all  over.  He  traveled  from  Maidstone 
by  the  Sunday  night  mail  train  and  arrived 
at  the  London  Bridge  terminus  about  mid- 
night. He  left  his  handbag  at  the  station  for 
the  parcels'  delivery  man  to  bring  to  his 
office  in  the  morning  and  concluded  to  walk 
home  over  the  bridge,  as  he  dearly  liked  to 
roam  about  London  streets  at  night. 

He  had  reached  about  the  centre  of  the 
bridge,  when  suddenly  two  men  rose  up  from 
one  of  the  stone  seats  with  the  remark,  "  'Old 
on  there,  marster.  Stop!  Yer  money  or  yer 
life." 

Sands  stopped.  A  bright  light  blazed  out 
from  two  of  the  buttons  of  his  top  coat  and 
shone  full  in  the  faces  of  the  men  who 
found  themselves  looking  into  the  muzzles 
of   a   pair  of   .44   Colt's    as    his    coat    flew 

98 


London   Bridge 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  99 

open.  There  were  no  pockets,  only  slits, 
through  which  his  hands  passed  to  his 
armory. 

^^You  fellows  don't  look  Uke  thieves/' 
uttered  Sands. 

They  were  a  couple  of  coal-heavers,  with 
sou'westers,  smock  frocks  and  straps  about 
their  breeches  below  the  knees. 

''We  ain't  'ad  nothink  to  heat  today, 
marster,"  one  of  them  offered  by  way  of 
excuse. 

"I'm  sorr}^  for  you  both,"  replied  Sands. 
"Drop  that  billy,  put  up  your  hands,  and 
turn  your  faces  to  the  side  of  the  bridge.  I 
am  going  to  put  two  sovereigns  on  the  para- 
pet here,  one  for  each  of  you.  Go  home,  and 
good  luck  to  you." 

The  men  pocketed  the  money  gratefully 
and  made  straight  for  their  tenement  quar- 
ters, much  surprised  at  their  compensation. 
Sands  was  to  have  still  another  encounter. 
He  had  nearly  reached  the  Monument,  when 
a  woman  stepped  toward  him  from  the  bridge 
wall. 

"Do  not  come  any  nearer,"  he  warned  as 
his  lights  flashed  out.  She  was  young  and  had 
well-formed    features    though    the    rouge    on 


100  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

her  cheeks  and  darkened  eye-lashes  told  the 
story  of  her  life. 

''I^m  cold,  take  me  over  to  the  pub  and 
treat  me  to  some  gin.  Be  generous/'  she 
begged. 

^^Who  would  not  be  generous  when  they 
look  at  you,  my  sister?  I  cannot  go  with  you 
but  here  are  two  sovereigns,  if  you  will  accept 
them.     Go  home  and  take  your  rest.'' 

Surprised,  she  looked  at  him,  took  the  money 
and  started  for  her  rooms  alone  with  a  vision 
before  her  of  the  comfortable  Kentish  home 
from  which  she  had  been  lured  by  a  wretch 
who  had  promised  to  love  and  protect  her. 
Those  two  gold  coins  were  her  salvation. 
The  next  morning  she  packed  up  her  belong- 
ings, called  a  cab  and,  with  her  box  on  top, 
reached  the  South  Eastern  Railway  Station, 
where  she  purchased  a  ticket  for  Ashford. 
When  she  reached  home,  she  was  received 
with  joy  by  her  parents  and  a  new  life  com- 
menced. 

Sands'  long  strides  soon  brought  him  to 
Finsbury  Square.  Many  strange  adventures 
had  been  encountered  during  his  nocturnal 
promenade  about  the  great  city.  He  had 
obtained  an  entree  and  found  himself  persona 


Accessoi^  After  the  fad    '  •      'l6l 

grata,  through  the  introduction  of  General 
Broughton,  Eleanor  and  Captain  Musgrove 
into  that  exclusive  military  set,  harder  for 
the  social  climber  to  break  into  than  a  Duke'3 
castle. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

Edward  Marsden  and  Isobel  had  been 
married  a  little  more  than  a  year.  It  was 
Christmas  eve,  and  they  sat  in  their  cosy 
dining  room,  awaiting  dinner.  The  electric 
light,  softened  by  the  pearl-colored  lamp 
shades,  shone  upon  the  silver,  cut-glass  and 
damask  table  linen — his  mother's  wedding 
gift.  She  had  left  them  about  three  months 
after  their  marriage  and  had  gone  to  join 
his  father. 

"Oh,  Edward!  Do  look  at  this  lovely 
present  that  the  girls  of  the  choir  have  sent 
me!''  cried  Isobel.     ''Oh,  aren't  they  dear!" 

They  were  new  baby  clothes,  the  daintiest 
little  outfit  imaginable,  all  pink  and  white — 
tiny  white  dresses  with  pink  ribbons  run 
through  the  beading;  warm  flannel  skirts; 
Uttle  white  bootees  tied  with  pink  ribbons 
around  the  ankles;  and  there  were  even 
safety  pins  and  violet  powder.  All  the  other 
necessaries  were  remembered  and  soft  brushes 

102 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  103 

and  sponges  were  packed  in  a  beautiful  Jap- 
anese basket  lined  with  pink  silk  and  with 
pink  ribbons  run  through  the  wicker  work  of 
the  sides  and  lid. 

''Oh,  those  dear,  sweet  girls!  How  can  I 
ever  thank  them  enough?  Do  you  believe 
in  mental  telepathy,  Edward  ?^^ 

''Dear,''  he  replied,  "you  know  there  is 
much  to  be  said  both  for  and  against  such  a 
belief,  but  what  is  the  case  in  point?" 

"  Someone  came  to  me  and  said,  'Tomorrow 
morning  a  son  will  be  born  to  you,'  and  Ed- 
ward, I  am  sure  it  will  come  true.  It  is  as 
plain  to  me  as  the  handwriting  upon  the  wall, 
and  I  do  not  have  to  call  for  a  Daniel  to 
interpret  'Mene,  mene  tekel  uplmrsin.^  ^' 

"Ah,"  said  Edward,  "they  were  feasting 
that  night  when  Cyrus  turned  the  river  into 
some  reservoii's,  and  entered  with  his  army 
through  the  water  gate.  We  have  three 
accounts  of  this  incident  in  the  life  of  Cyrus, 
by  Herodotus,  Ctesias,  a  Greek  physician 
employed  at  the  court  of  Persia,  and  that 
given  by  Xenophon.  Herodotus  tells  us  that 
Lal)ynetus  was  the  mler  of  Babylon,  against 
whom  the  raid  was  made.  The  Belshazzar 
whom  Daniel  calls  'king'  was  probably  his  son, 


104  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

associated  with  him  in  the  government,  his 
name  appears  in  inscriptions,  as  Bilshar-uzur. 
We  know  from  other  authorities  that  Laby- 
netus  himself  was  not  in  the  city  at  the  time 
of   its   capture.     Swayne   relates   this   fact/' 

"Yes,  I  have  read  that,''  said  Isobel,  "and 
also  the  account  given  by  Xenophon  of  the 
death-bed  of  Cyrus  with  his  sons  around  him. 
'You  cannot  surely  believe  that  when  I  have 
ended  this  mortal  life,  I  shall  cease  to  exist? 
Even  in  lifetime  you  have  never  seen  my  soul. 
You  have  only  inferred  its  existence,  and 
there  are  grounds  for  inferring  the  continu- 
ance of  the  soul  after  death.  Have  you  not 
seen  what  a  power  is  exercised  by  the  souls  of 
murdered  men — how  they  send  avenging 
furies  to  punish  their  murderers?  Do  then 
what  I  advise,  from  a  regard  to  my  immortal 
spirit.'  Sir  Alexander  Grant  tells  us  that  the 
arguments  given  by  Xenophon  in  favor  of 
the  immortality  of  the  soul  are  exactly  quoted 
by  Cicero  at  the  end  of  his  dialogue  on  'Old 
Age.' 

"Another  thing,  Edward,"  she  continued, 
"  I  feel  that  my  love  for  you  is  like  the  post- 
nuptial affection  of  Panthea  for  Abradates 
that  Xenophon  writes  about.      It  is  the  first 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  105 

instance  of  a  prose  love-story  in  European 
literature. 

''You  must  call  up  Doctor  Strong  and  tell 
him  to  be  prepared." 

The  Doctor  said  that  he  "  would  be  driving 
by  their  house  and  could  stop  there  shortly." 

He  had  to  call  there  again  later,  and  when  he 
left  about  2  a.  m.,  a  human  soul  had  been 
ushered  into  life,  and  the  mother  said,  ''His 
name  is  John." 

Doctor  Strong  on  his  way  home  encountered 
the  Episcopal  church  choir  out  singing  Christ- 
mas carols.  They  went  under  IsobeFs  win- 
dow and  chanted  their  anthem,  "Glory  to 
God  in  the  highest,  and  good-will  toward 
men,"  as  the  shepherds  had  done  nearly  two 
thousand  vears  before. 


CHAPTER  XV 

When  Mike  Culin  left  Dr.  Whittaker^s 
hospital  at  French  Gulch,  he  went  at  once  to 
Bill  Toombs'  hotel  to  have  a  financial  settle- 
ment. His  winnings  had  from  time  to  time 
been  deposited  in  the  big  safe  behind  the 
counter  in  the  hotel  office.  He  had  quite  a 
considerable  sum  which  Bill  Toombs  thought 
could  be  used  to  neutralize  the  wrath  of  the 
crowd  when  Mike  was  caught  in  the  act  of 
cheating. 

Indeed,  had  Wellsford  put  a  bullet  through 
his  head  instead  of  his  hand,  the  proof  would 
have  been  sufficient  to  exonerate  him,  in 
view  of  the  fact  that  the  "bunch''  had  been 
so  badly  fleeced  on  other  occasions.  Bill 
Toombs  interceded,  however,  and  offered  to 
settle  all  claims  for  prior  losses. 

"Have  I  got  anything  left,  Bill?"  asked 
Mike,  as  he  walked  to  the  desk. 

"I  gave  them  what  the}^  asked  for,  and  I 
set  up  the  drinks  a  few  times,  and  told  'em 

1()6 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  107 

you  was  a-doing  the  treating.  I  seen  it  was 
the  only  way  to  square  things.  The  boys 
finally  said  they  was  satisfied,  and  hoped  as 
how  you  wouldn^t  lose  your  hand.  There 
is  an  even  two  hundred  dollars  left  for  you, 
Mike.^^ 

''You  are  a  true  friend,  Bill.  Give  me  the 
money  and  I  will  pull  out  for  'Frisco  on  the 
noon  train.'' 

Bill  gave  him  the  two  hundred  dollars  in 
twenty  dollar  bills  and  promised  to  send  the 
hotel  expressman  over  to  the  hospital  to 
take  his  trunk  and  suit-case  to  the  depot. 

On  his  arrival  in  San  Francisco,  Mike  went 
to  a  secluded  apartment  house  kept  by  a 
friend.  He  thought  it  would  be  better  not 
to  put  himself  in  a  too  prominent  position, 
as  many  mining  and  ranch  men  who  had 
heard  of  his  narrow  escape  would  be  in  the 
city  and  likely  to  point  him  out  as  an  example. 

Mike  Culin  was  a  handsome  man,  with 
blonde  hair  and  dark  blue  eyes.  During  his 
stay  in  the  hospital  he  had  allowed  his  beard 
to  grow,  and  one  of  the  first  things  he  now 
did  was  to  have  it  trimmed  a  la  Vandykey 
after  the  latest  Parisian  style. 

As  he  strode  along  on  Market  Street,  his 


108  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

fashionable,  well-pressed  clothes  fitting  his 
tall,  athletic  form  and  broad  shoulders  to 
perfection,  he  was  good  to  look  at.  Many  an 
admiring  glance  was  shot  at  him  by  bright 
eyes  protected  by  the  shade  of  a  Merry  Widow 
hat. 

Mike  Gulin  as  a  boy  had  worked  about 
mines,  had  even  started  in  to  learn  assaying 
and  metallurgy.  He  had  picked  up  a  knowl- 
edge of  high  explosives,  had  helped  the 
engineers  in  their  survey  of  the  mines  and 
was  a  really  good  all  around  useful  man.  His 
last  position  had  been  to  take  entire  charge  of 
all  the  blasting  work  and  often  had  he  super- 
vised the  putting  in  of  a  "round  of  shots'' 
that  had  opened  up  a  display  of  ''picture'' 
ore  which  meant  vast  wealth  for  the  mine 
owners. 

There  was  no  opportunity  now  for  ''high 
grading,"  and  the  Mine  Owners'  Association 
had  set  the  scale  of  wages  so  that  the  men  were 
satisfied.  There  was  not  the  chance  for  a 
miner  working  underground  to  "get  rich 
quick,"  in  the  way  that  had  formerly  existed, 
when  rules  had  been  more  lax.  There  was 
a  change  room  and  lockers  in  charge  of  one 
of  the  company's  detectives  now. 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  109 

A  run  of  luck  at  draw  poker  had  finally 
decided  Mike  to  adopt  the  precarious  life  of 
a  gambler.  He  had  previously  visited  most 
of  the  fake  pool  rooms,  gambling  joints  and 
headquarters  of  bunco  steerei-s,  and  also 
places  where  crap  games  were  in  evidence. 

He  now  made  a  round  of  the  different 
gambling  dens  on  the  streets  of  the  city. 
There  were  places  on  ElHs,  Market,  and  O'Far- 
rel  Streets,  bunco  joints  on  Fourth,  Fifth  and 
Seventh  Streets,  to  w^hich  he  bent  his  foot- 
steps. He  also  took  in  a  couple  of  Chinese 
lotter\^  joints  on  Townsend  and  Montgomery 
Streets  and  several  crap  games  on  Pacific 
and  Broadway  near  Dupont,  as  well  as  a 
poker  game  under  the  Marsiand  Restaurant 
on  Salencia  Street. 

As  the  time  wore  on,  he  had  many  chances 
to  sit  in  poker  games,  where  his  skill  at  deal- 
ing "seconds"  and  his  ability  as  a  ''short  card 
artist"  enabled  him  to  increase  the  size  of 
his  bank  account.  He  never  indulged  in  the 
use  of  intoxicating  liquors  nor  did  he  smoke 
or  chew  tobacco. 

Mike  had  recently  been  spending  some 
time  on  the  Oakland  Ferry,  watching  for  the 
arrival  of  "  Rubes,"  and  had  found  this  new 


110  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

departure  quite  profitable.  It  also  accounted 
for  his  embarking  in  another  branch  of  busi- 
ness. He  had  noticed  a  man  who  acted  Uke 
a  stranger  get  off  a  Richmond  electric  car 
and  he  immediately  accosted  him. 

^^Are  you  looking  for  the  Trisco  boat, 
mister?''*^ 

"YouVe  just  hit  me  right,  pardner/^  an- 
swered the  man. 

"Well,  I'm  going  over,''  offered  Mike. 
"Let's  get  a  drink  and  we  can  go  right  onto 
the  boat." 

The  farmer  was  wilUng  to  accept  such 
hospitaUty,  and  on  this  occasion  Mike  joined 
him  with  a  bottle  of  Budweiser,  as  that  was 
his  usual  "tipple"  he  said. 

The  man  did  not  seem  to  be  averse  to  the 
Uttle  game  suggested,  so  Mike  steered  him 
to  an  eligible  place  operated  by  Barney 
Silver  and  Tom  Jones.  There  was  a  piano 
performer  pla3dng  a  Uvely  accompaniment 
for  a  vocal  artist  on  a  mimic  stage,  who  was 
bawHng  forth  the  problem  in  verse,  constant- 
ly propounded  in  all  quarters  of  the  city. 

"Did  McCarthy  strike  McGinty 
Wid  his  fist  or  wid  a  brick? 
McGinty  says  he  hit  him, 
Wid  a  brick  wrapped  up  in  paper." 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  111 

They  were  ushered  to  a  table  by  a  young 
woman  attired  so  scantily  that  her  lingerie 
would  have  required  an  apology  to  pass 
muster  as  a  bathing  costume. 

Mike,  however,  addressed  her  as  ''kiddo/' 
and  gave  his  order.  They  had  been  playing 
"Jackpots''  at  which  game  the  stranger  in 
his  innocent  way  seemed  famihar.  He  sud- 
denly remarked,  "Say,  pard,  was  you  born 
with  only  three  fingers  on  your  right  hand?'' 

"No,  I  was  an  expert  in  high  explosives 
and  attended  to  putting  in  all  the  shots  at 
the  mine  where  I  worked  and  lost  my  fingers 
by  an  accident,"  explained  Mike. 

"Well,  stow  the  lay,  cull,"  sneered  his  dupe. 
"  Take  that  pot  if  you  want  to  and  you  need 
not  show  your  hand.  I  seen  you  leave  that 
ace  of  hearts  on  the  bottom  when  you  dealt, 
and  I  seen  you  drop  the  deuce  of  clubs  on 
your  lap,  and  pick  up  another  ace  of  hearts. 
Quit  your  kidding,  pard.  I'm  on  to  the 
racket.  Now  listen  to  me.  I  can  put  you 
onto  a  scheme  whereby  you  can  make  a 
hundred  times  as  much  as  you  can  bunco- 
steering  or  skinning  suckers." 

Mike  had,  been  dividing  the  chips  equally 
and  passed  one  half  over  to  his  opponent  in 


112  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

the  game  as  he  whispered,  ''Well,  Fm  from 
Missouri,  mister.     You'll  have  to  show  me/' 

The  fellow  told  Mike  he  was  the  advance 
guard  of  a  quartet  of  yeggmen  who  were 
coming  from  Chicago.  He  had  received  a 
wire  to  meet  the  balance  of  the  party  at  a 
certain  restaurant  that  evening  after  the 
arrival  of  the  Overland  Limited.  One  of  the 
party  who  always  did  the  dynamiting,  he 
said,  had  been  killed  by  a  premature  explosion 
and  he  was  anxious  to  have  Mike  step  into 
the  breach. 

The  stranger  hereupon  called  out,  ''Oh,  you 
kid!''  and  beckoned  to  the  girl  to  replenish 
their  glasses. 

He  then  proposed  that  they  should  go  and 
meet  the  other  members  of  the  gang.  Mike 
Culin  took  the  oath  of  office  and  was  duly 
initiated  into  the  secrets  of  the  craft. 

Some  time  later  they  operated  on  several 
of  the  vaults  of  country  banks,  but  in  doing 
a  job  on  the  Stockton  National  Bank  three  of 
the  quartet  were  rounded  up  b}^  a  citizens' 
committee  and  Mike,  who  on  this  occasion 
was  doing  picket  duty,  managed  to  escape. 

He  had  never  been  in  trouble  w4th  the  police 
and  his  connection  with  the  bank  robberies 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  113 

was  not  suspected.  So  for  fear  that  the  trio 
who  had  been  ^^pinched^'  might  ''squeal" 
when  put  through  the  ''third  degree"  Mike 
took  the  Southern  Pacific  for  New  Orleans  to 
connect  with  a  steamer  for  New  York.  After 
a  pleasant  and  restful  passage,  he  found  him- 
self doing  stunts  on  Broadway  and  the 
Bowery  with  a  firm  determination  to  have 
no  partnerships  in  his  operations  of  the  future. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

IsoBEL  Marsden  was  one  of  the  most 
devoted  of  mothers  and  was  never  contented 
when  her  baby  was  out  of  her  range  of  ob- 
servation. 

There  were  many  young  matrons  in  her 
set.  They  had  known  each  other  from  child- 
hood, had  shared  each  other's  joys,  sorrows 
and  studies,  and  now  they  never  seemed  to 
tire  of  dilating  upon  the  good  points  and  bad 
features  of  their  progeny. 

Edward  occupied  himself  attending  lodge 
meetings,  dropping  in  more  often  at  the  club, 
working  in  his  laboratory  and  even  staying 
at  the  bank  until  quite  late  which  did  not 
seem  to  have  any  effect  upon  IsobePs  state 
of  mind,  so  completely  was  she  absorbed  in 
the  growth  and  development  of  her  baby. 

The  bank  had  prospered  under  Edward 
Marsden's  watchful  care.  He  had  introduced 
an  innovation  in  the  form  of  attending  to  the 
various  stock  and  grain  investments  of  the 

114 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  115 

business  men  who  were  patrons  of  the  in- 
stitution. Thus  all  risks  were  known,  the 
losses  and  profits  were  continually  before 
the  eyes  of  the  cashier  and  by  him  reported 
to  the  board  of  directors. 

He  had  made  a  rule  that  ^'  there  should  be 
no  overdrafts  which  were  not  fully  protected 
and  none  but  ^gilt  edged'  paper  discounted." 
There  was  a  feeling  of  general  satisfaction 
among  the  officers  of  the  bank  concerning 
his  administration  of  affairs,  nor  was  he  less 
popular  among  the  business  men  of  the  city 
with  whom  he  had  dealings. 

Edward  had  kept  a  watchful  eye  on  the 
orders  sent  by  wire,  through  the  bank  to 
various  brokers  in  Boston  and  New  York 
with  whom  they  were  in  correspondence. 
He  had  noted  that  at  times  large  profits  had 
been  made  in  the  industrials  on  compaia- 
tively  small  investments.  His  father  and 
mother  had  left  him  a  few  thousand  dollars 
which  was  on  deposit  in  the  bank. 

He  had  of  late  been  making  some  purchases 
of  textiles  under  a  nom  de  plume  and  without 
in  any  way  interfering  with  the  sum  of  his 
own  deposit.  He  had  been  successful  to  the 
extent  that  there  stood  to  the  credit  of  the 


116  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

name  assumed  for  the  purpose,  over  thirty 
thousand  dollars. 

He  had  explained  to  the  board  that  '^one 
of  their  customers  was  operating  under  an 
assumed  name  but  that  no  credit  would  be 
extended  in  any  form  if  the  deposit  were 
exhausted/^ 

Edward  Marsden  commenced  to  see  visions 
of  an  extensive  establishment  in  town,  auto- 
mobiles, yachts,  and  a  handsome  cottage  at 
the  seaside,  not  to  mention  a  model  stock 
farm  which  he  had  in  his  mind. 

His  careful  observation  of  the  state  of  the 
market,  buying  when  the  commodities  were 
low  and  selling  on  the  turn  as  had  been  the 
custom  of  the  other  investors,  caused  him  to 
watch  for  an  opportunity  when  he  might,  by 
throwing  all  his  capital  into  the  deal  at  one 
jump,  put  himself  upon  the  same  plane  as 
some  of  the  big  captains  of  finance. 

None  the  less  carefully  had  some  of  these 
masters  of  the  stock  board  been  watching 
the  successful  deals  of  the  Dwighton  National 
Bank.  They  determined  that  when  such  a 
move  was  made  for  the  purpose  of  increasing 
the  large  and  steady  profits  that  were  credited 
to  the  bank  and  its  customers,  they  would  be 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  117 

ready  to  throw  big  blocks  of  stock  on  to  the 
market,  thus  causing  a  slump  which  would 
wipe  out  the  Dwighton  contingent  while  their 
own  brokers  were  ready  to  take  in  all  the 
stock  thrown  overboard  at  reduced  figures. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

It  did  not  take  Mike  Culin  long  to  get  the 
lay  of  the  land  in  "little  old  New  York/^  as 
he  called  it.  He  had  been  born  there  and 
went  west  with  his  parents  when  about  four- 
teen years  of  age.  The  geography  of  the 
city,  its  main  arteries  of  commerce  and  the 
docks  were  thoroughly  impressed  upon  his 
mind,  though  the  Flat  Iron  Building  and  the 
many  office  sky-scrapers  were  new  to  him. 

He  was  a  steady  frequenter  of  the  Hoffman 
House  bar,  and  had  made  many  profitable 
acquaintances.  Just  now  he  had  come  in 
touch  with  a  party  of  Canadian  cattle- 
drovers,  who  had  brought  their  live  stock 
through  because  of  a  big  advance  over  the 
figures  offered  at  East  Buffalo  where  their 
journey  generally  ended. 

They  wanted  to  see  the  "shadowy^^  side 
of  the  metropolis  and  Mike  had  been  able  to 
initiate  them.  Moreover,  they  were  anxious 
that  he  should  return  with  them  and  visit 

118 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  119 

their  homes  in  Canada,  for  which  journey  they 
offered  to  pay  all  expenses.  Mike  CuUn 
accepted  their  offer,  thinking  it  would  give 
him  a  chance  to  "spy  out  the  land'^  and  make 
observations  without  being  suspected. 

The  party  arrived  where  the  men  had  busi- 
ness in  Buffalo  and  all  registered  at  a  hotel. 
They  were  in  time  for  dinner  and  after  taking 
in  a  show  at  the  Academy  of  Music,  they  left 
orders  with  the  clerk  for  an  early  call.  It 
was  their  intention  to  go  out  to  the  yards  in 
the  morning  with  the  idea  of  closing  up  their 
business  deals  and  leaving  by  the  night 
express  on  the  Grand  Trunk  Railway  for 
Caledonia,  where  they  had  left  an  automobile 
and  two  driving  rigs.  The  party  was  to 
drive  to  Brantford,  two  of  them  even  going 
as  far  as  Paris. 

This  was  Mike^s  first  visit  to  Canada.  He 
was  captivated  by  the  hospitality  of  the 
Canadians  to  the  extent  that  he  decided  to 
return  and  try  his  ingenuity  on  the  vault  of 
the  bank  at  Caledonia,  which  he  had  care- 
fully inspected  while  the  party  were  taking 
up  some  notes  given  to  pay  for  the  hve  stock 
sold  in  Buffalo  and  New  York.  Mike  had 
also  noted  a  vulnerable  point  in  the  building, 


120  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

where  was  located  the  stock-yards^  bank  at 
East  Buffalo,  which  he  purposed  to  attend  to 
on  his  return. 

He  stayed  a  couple  of  days  in  Brantford, 
took  a  run  over  to  Paris,  saw  the  rest  of  the 
party  there  and  they  all  made  a  visit  to 
Hamilton  and  were  guests  for  a  day  and  a 
night  at  the  St.  Charles  Hotel.  Mike  had, 
while  in  Brantford,  formed  an  acquaintance 
with  a  chauffeur,  who  had  agreed  for  a  con- 
sideration to  take  him  to  Caledonia,  wait 
while  he  attended  to  some  business  and  get 
him  back  to  Brantford  in  time  to  board  the 
night  express  from  Detroit.  This  would  put 
him  into  Buffalo  soon  enough  for  an  early 
breakfast.  He  successfully  negotiated  his 
loan  at  the  Caledonia  Bank  while  the  official 
and  citizens  were  clasped  in  the  arms  of  Mor- 
pheus, boarded  the  train  at  Brantford  without 
anyone  at  the  hotel  being  aware  of  his 
absence,  and  was  soundly  sleeping  in  his  berth 
in  the  pullman  when  the  train  arrived  at 
Caledonia. 

His  suit-case  was  passed  by  the  customs 
at  the  International  Bridge  and  he  went  up 
in  a  hack  to  a  hotel  on  arriving  in  Buffalo. 
Mike  arranged  to  borrow  a  motor  cycle  from 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  121 

one  of  the  bell  boys  to  whom  he  had  recently 
given  a  liberal  tip. 

He  had  noticed  that  one  of  the  bank  win- 
dows, situated  in  an  alley  at  the  side  of  the 
building  was  not  protected  with  iron  bars 
inside.  His  calculations  were  correct,  he 
made  an  easy  entrance,  found  an  old  fash- 
ioned lock  on  the  safe  that  he  had  learned 
how  to  master,  made  a  quick  haul  and  got 
off  on  the  motor  cycle  without  attracting 
the  attention  of  the  ^^cop''  on  the  beat, 
who  was  playing  a  game  of  set-back  with 
John  Shanon  at  Mike  Sweeney's  place. 
The  same  "cop^^  afterward  swore  that 
he  had  grappled  with  one  of  the  burglars 
and  been  knocked  senseless  by  the  fellow's 
^^pal.'' 

Mike  bought  a  ticket  for  Boston  and  left 
Buffalo  on  the  New  York  Central  morning 
train,  intending  to  stop  off  at  some  likely- 
looking  town  between  Albany  and  Boston. 
.^s  a  matter  of  fact,  his  choice  fell  upon 
Dwighton,  Massachusetts. 

After  locating  himself  at  the  Auditorium 
Hotel  and  dining  comfortably,  he  strolled 
about  the  city  to  get  a  general  idea  of  its 
''topography"  and  ''profile.''     His  footsteps 


122  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

seemed  to  be  directed  to  the  Dwighton  Nation- 
al Bank  building,  where  from  the  shelter  of  a 
protecting  doorway  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
street,  he  saw  Edward  Marsden  working  in  his 
private  room  behind  the  steel  enclosure,  where 
business  was  transacted. 

As  he  was  making  observations,  the 
light  was  turned  off  and  shortly  after- 
ward Edward  appeared  from  a  side  street, 
after  slamming  the  door  of  a  private  en- 
trance. 

Mike  followed  Edward  to  his  home  in  the 
suburbs,  saw  him  pass  around  the  house  and 
enter  the  door  of  his  laboratory  and  den  at 
the  back.  It  was  an  addition  that  had  been 
put  onto  the  dwelling  by  his  father  and  used 
as  a  library  and  place  for  entertaining  officials 
and  patrons  of  the  bank  at  times.  It  had 
been  turned  over  to  Edward  when  he  attained 
his  majority.  He  had  always  been  a  ''night 
hawk.^'  It  was  his  boast  that  he  had  spent 
thousands  of  hours  in  study  and  eaten  many 
night  lunches  in  that  wing  of  the  building 
after  all  the  rest  of  the  family  had  been  in 
bed  and  asleep. 

Dr.  Strong  had  given  him  a  couple  of  slides, 
showing   the   Klebs-Loffler   bacillus,   and   he 


Accessory  After  the  Fad  123 

wanted  to  take  a  look  at  it  under  his  micro- 
scope before  going  to  bed. 

Isobel  was  often  disturbed  during  the 
night  by  John,  the  baby,  and  had  re- 
tired early.  At  this  time  she  was  al- 
ways having  her  soundest  sleep. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

Mike  ma.de  accurate  observ^ations,  taking 
note  of  the  fact  that  there  were  windows  on 
three  sides  of  the  addition  and  a  private 
entrance  into  the  main  building  opposite  the 
outside  door.  He  then  returned  to  the  bank 
building,  noted  the  door  of  exit  on  the  side 
street,  and  much  to  his  surprise  and  joy  dis- 
covered that  he  had  a  master  key  with  him 
by  which  he  could  open  the  door  and  obtain 
entrance  at  his  pleasure.  He  closed  the  door 
quickly  and  returned  to  his  hotel,  congratu- 
lating himself  upon  the  fact  that  his  '^star 
of  destiny^'  had  led  him  to  a  place  where  the 
outlook  for  industrious  endeavor  was  alto- 
gether promising  of  future  rewards. 

There  was  a  circus  in  town  and  Mike  Culin 
had  noticed  that  a  part  of  the  equipment 
consisted  of  two  fine,  big  limousine  cars 
which  had  been  kept  busy  calling  at  his 
hotel  for  star  performers  and  the  manager, 
who  were  making  it  their  headquarters. 
124 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  125 

Mike  had  talked  to  the  chauffeurs  and 
incidentall}^  passed  them  several  good  cigars. 
It  was  his  habit  to  make  friends  with  drivers 
of  all  kinds. 

The  crowds  were  coming  from  the  evening 
circus  performances,  though  there  was  a 
side-show  and  a  moving-picture  display  still 
in  evidence,  when  he  reached  the  ground 
where  the  tents  had  been  set  up. 

He  heard  a  spieler  shouting,  ''Hurry! 
Hurry,  hurry  now!  Every  picture  a  new 
one.  A  complete  change  of  programme  to- 
night. Only  a  dime — ten  cents!  Get  3^our 
tickets  and  pass  inside.  The  show  is  going 
on  all  the  time.  To-night  we  show  ten  rounds 
of  the  Nelson  and  Wolgast  fight  in  addition 
to  the  regular  programme.  This  way  for  the 
tickets." 

While  Mike  was  cogitating,  ruminating, 
and  pondering  in  his  mind  as  to  whether  he 
should  go  in  to  the  show  or  not,  his  two 
chauffeur  acquaintances  came  up  and  greeted 
him.  ''Come  on,  let's  go  in  and  see  those 
fight  pictures,   they  only  came  in  to-night. '' 

Mike  allowed  them  to  pass  him  in  to  the 
performance.  After  the  show  he  proposed 
that  they  should  go  with  him  and  have  some 


126  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

oysters  and  a  bottle  of  Pilsner  beer,  ^^  right 
off  the  ice.'^ 

Before  he  parted  with  his  new-found  friends, 
he  had  ^^  stood  for'^  all  the  expenses  conse- 
quent upon  the  demands  of  their  none  too 
modest  gastronomic  desires  for  solids  and 
liquids.  He  had  also  learned  that  the  circus 
was  to  leave  the  next  day  to  show  in  the 
thriving  city  of  Westfield,  some  eighteen 
miles  distant.  He  made  an  engagement  with 
them  to  return  to  Dwighton  for  him  and  meet 
him  on  the  circus  grounds  at  two  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  two  days  hence.  He  promised 
to  be  waiting  behind  a  bill-board  nearby  and 
to  remunerate  them  with — as  he  adroitly 
put  it — "fifty  plunks  apiece,  and  a  sawbuck 
now  to  bind  the  bargain.'^ 

He  said  he  was  a  travelling  man,  had 
promised  to  see  a  customer  after  his  arrival 
on  a  late  train  in  Dwighton  and  he  himself 
wanted  to  get  into  Westfield  in  time  to  get 
some  sleep  and  do  business  on  that  day. 
The  boys  were  never  allowed  to  take  out  the 
cars  for  '^joy  riding,''  but  this  was  business 
and  by  fixing  the  watchman  they  would  be 
able  to  steal  away.  After  assuring  the  chauf- 
feurs that  they  only  had  the  little  run  of 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  127 

eighteen  miles  to  do  in  order  to  get  their 
money,  he  left  them. 

''Well,  that  guy  is  flush  with  his  money/' 
one  chauffeur  remarked  to  the  other,  ^'but 
he's  'all  wool  and  a  yard  wide,'  Joe." 

''Set  'em  up  in  great  shape,  too,  didn't 
he?"  chuckled  the  other.  "We'll  get  him 
there  all  right  and  it  will  be  easy  money  for 
us." 

On  the  third  day  from  the  time  of  Mike's 
arrival,  Edward  Marsden  had,  with  much 
inward  perturbation,  received  a  telegram. 
It  announced  that  the  textiles  in  which  he 
had  made  a  plunge  with  all  his  capital,  had 
dropped  so  far  that  he  could  not  recover  and 
he  would  have  to  remdt  all  his  winnings  to 
pay  for  the  orders  sent  in  the  name  of  the 
bank.  His  private  deposit  to  which  his 
wife  had  access  was  still  untouched.  This 
money  he  intended  for  her  protection,  as  he 
carried  no  life  insurance. 

Edward  had  been  preparing  for  such  an 
emergency  and  had  determined  that  in  the 
event  of  a  slump  in  the  values,  he  would  take 
his  money  which  now  amounted  to  forty 
thousand  dollars,  placed  to  the  credit  of  the 
fictitious  name,  and  disappear. 


128  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

That  evening  when  closing  the  safe,  he  had 
failed  to  fasten  the  inner  steel  repository  on 
which  there  was  a  time  lock.  After  dinner 
he  returned  to  the  bank  and  removed  the 
"straw  man's  money/'  He  was  able  to 
secure  two  thousand  pounds  in  Bank  of  Eng- 
land notes  and  the  balance  in  bills  of  large 
denominations,  with  a  few  hundred  in  small 
bills  for  immediate  use. 

The  Boston  and  iVlbany  Limited  stopped  at 
Dwighton  at  10  p.  m.,  though  passengers  for 
the  city  usually  went  by  an  earlier  train 
which  left  there  at  five  o'clock  and  put  them 
in  Boston  in  time  for  the  theatres.  They 
could  do  their  shopping  or  other  business  in 
the  morning,  take  a  train  returning  which 
left  Boston  at  2.25  p.  m.,  and  brought  them 
home  in  time  for  six  o'clock  dinner.  This 
was  a  very  popular  mode  of  travel  to  and  from 
the  city  by  Dwighton's  ''four  hundred,"  who 
never  missed  an  opportunity  to  see  any  famous 
actor  or  singer. 

This  was  the  night  on  which  Mike  CuUn 
intended  to  make  a  "sortie"  and  as  he  had 
the  means  of  obtaining  an  entrance  to  the 
building,  he  calculated  that  it  would  be  an 
easy  matter  to  capture  the  treasure.     As  he 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  129 

passed  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street,  he 
saw  Edward  in  the  bank  and  when  he  came 
out  short! \^  after,  Mike  trailed  him  to  his 
home  and  watched  him  enter  his  private 
quarters  in  the  addition  to  the  house,  which 
was  also  his  study  and  laboratory. 

The  burglar  went  to  the  back  of  the  resi- 
dence and  as  the  shades  were  not  drawn  down 
he  was  able  to  note  Edward's  movements. 
He  found  a  seat  upon  the  platform  of  an  old 
well.  Since  the  Dwighton  Water  Works  Com- 
pany had  been  organized  by  Daniel  Marsden 
to  pump  water  from  the  Connecticut  River, 
some  twenty-five  yeai^s  previously,  the  well 
had  fallen  into  disuse. 

From  his  point  of  observation  the  man 
watched  Edward  as  he  changed  his  clothing, 
saw  him  take  off  the  light  overcoat  and  the 
handsome  suit  of  blue  serge  he  had  been 
wearing  and  substitute  one  of  light-colored 
English  tweed.  Edward  came  from  the  inner 
room  after  an  absence  from  the  field  of  vision 
of  about  twenty  minutes,  wearing  a  Ught 
colored  ulster  and  cap  to  match  the  suit. 
He  had  the  high  collar  turned  up,  so  Mike 
did  not  notice  that  the  elegantly  trimmed 
Vandyke   had    disappeared,    that   the   silky, 


130  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

flaxen  hair  had  been  cut  from  the  top  of  liis 
head  and  afterward  carefully  shaved.  The 
remaining  hair  on  the  back  and  sides  had  been 
dyed  black. 

Edward  now  picked  up  a  small  English 
Gladstone  bag,  took  an  umbrella  in  his  hand 
and  stepped  to  the  door  to  make  an  observa- 
tion of  the  night.  It  was  just  half  past  nine 
o^clock.  Apparently  satisfied,  he  made  a 
rapid  start,  pulling  the  door  to  after  him. 
Much  to  Mike^s  surprise  and  satisfaction  and 
for  some  unaccountable  reason,  the  door  failed 
to  catch.  Mike  watched  Edward  walking 
rapidly  in  the  direction  of  the  railroad  depot 
and  concluded  that  he  was  going  to  take  the 
night  train  which  he  thought  was  another 
piece  of  good  fortune  and  removed  all  possi- 
bihty  of  his  being  disturbed  while  making  a 
"run''  on  the  bank. 

He  entered  Edward's  den,  noted  that  there 
was  a  Yale  lock  and  a  bar  on  the  door  connect- 
ing with  the  main  building.  He  also  ob- 
served that  Edward  had  left  a  fine  gold  watch 
and  chain  with  a  Knights  Templar  charm  on  the 
vest  of  the  suit  he  had  taken  off,  and  in  one 
of  the  pockets  he  found  a  thirty-second  degree 
masonic  ring.     He  had  waited  outside  quite 


Accessory  After  the  Fad  131 

a  while  before  investigating;  now,  as  he  noted 
the  trinkets  and  pocketbook  k^ft  in  the  coat, 
he  feared  that  Edward  might  return  for  them, 
but  just  then  he  heard  the  whistle  of  the 
Limited  and  concluded  that  the  coast  was 
clear. 

Mike  had  that  day  trinmied  his  beard  to 
almost  an  exact  imitation  of  the  one  Edward 
wore.  He  came  to  a  rapid  decision  that  he 
would  put  on  the  clothes  Edward  had  just 
discarded.  In  a  few  moments  he  was  dressed 
in  the  blue  serge  suit,  and  had  donned  the 
light  colored  overcoat.  As  he  put  on  the 
soft  felt  hat  and  stepped  in  front  of  the  mir- 
ror, he  saw  there,  reflected  as  nearly  as  it 
would  be  possible  for  an  artist  to  picture, 
the  figure  of  Edward  Marsden  as  he  was 
seen  in  the  bank  and  upon  the  streets  of 
Dwighton  every  day. 

From  an  inside  pocket  of  the  vest  he  had 
just  taken  off,  the  fellow  drew  a  package 
which  contained  the  sum  of  his  savings,  just 
forty-one  thousand  dollar  bills,  which  he 
placed  in  Marsden's  pocket  book.  He  had 
concluded  that  this  should  be  his  last  job  in 
the  east  and  he  intended  to  return  to  San 
Francisco  and  marry  a  widow,  who  kept  the 


132  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

apartment  house  at  which  he  stayed  while 
there.  He  had  made  several  good-sized  re- 
mittances to  her  for  the  purpose  of  invest- 
ment or  deposit,  and  the  arrangement  was 
thoroughly  understood  between  them. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

When  nearly  at  the  station,  Edward 
tarried  in  the  shadow  of  a  building  until  the 
engineer  of  the  Limited  whistled  for  the 
crossing.  He  then  stepped  on  the  depot 
platform  and  waited  by  the  side  of  a  storm 
porch  which  had  been  erected  at  the  waiting- 
room  door. 

While  he  stood  there,  the  train  came  in 
and  stopped  almost  opposite  the  place  where 
he  was  standing.  The  colored  porter  of  the 
Boston  sleeper  set  his  stool  at  the  foot  of  the 
vestibule  steps  and  stood  on  duty  erect  as  a 
soldier. 

There  were  no  passengers  but  a  couple  of 
cattlemen  who  had  boarded  the  smoker. 
The  conductor  turned  toward  the  waiting 
engineer,  who,  with  his  head  out  of  the  cab 
window  and  his  hands  upon  the  throttle 
valve  and  reversing  lever  was  watching.  The 
conductor  waved  his  arm  and  with  his  lantern 
gave    the    signal    to    go    ahead.     The    train 

133 


134  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

commenced  to  move  as  the  steam  rushed  into 
the  cylinders  of  the  locomotive. 

The  porter  grabbed  his  stool  and  swung 
himself  on  board.  Immediately  at  his  heels, 
before  he  had  time  to  close  the  vestibule 
door,  Edward  Marsden  followed. 

''Has  you  got  a  ticket,  boss?^'  called  the 
porter. 

"Yes,  here  it  is,"  answ^ered  Edward,  as  he 
handed  him  a  twenty  dollar  bill.  ''Put  me 
right  to  bed,  pay  the  conductor  my  fare  to 
Boston  and  do  not  let  me  be  disturbed  by 
anyone.     You  can  keep  the  change  yourself." 

"Dat  I  will,  Kunnel,"  the  porter  chuckled. 
"  Dis  car  will  be  switched  onto  a  side  track  in 
the  Union  Depot  at  Boston  and  you  can  sleep 
till  eight  o'clock  in  de  mornin'  if  yo'  want  to." 

"That  is  exactly  my  desire."  returned 
Edward. 

The  train  conductor  had  not  seen  Edward 
enter  the  pullman.  He  had  previously  checked 
up  his  run,  had  given  the  passengers  through 
tickets  to  the  porter  to  be  returned  to  them 
in  the  morning,  and  as  he  had  nothing  else 
to  do,  he  collected  fares  from  the  two  men  in 
the  smoking  car  and  sought  his  berth  in  the 
Portland  sleeper. 


A   Distant  \'ie\v  of   St.  Paul's  Cathedral 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  135 

Before  reaching  the  city  there  was  only  one 
more  stop.  This  was  at  Worcester,  forty 
miles  distant.  When  that  point  had  been 
passed  and  the  conductor  had  failed  to 
appear  in  the  Boston  sleeper,  the  porter 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  would  be  a 
great  shame  to  change  that  twenty  dollar 
bill,  so  he  made  no  report  of  the  fact  that 
any  passenger  had  boarded  his  car  at  Dwighton 
on  that  run. 

Edward  had  an  undisturbed  rest  and  left 
the  sleeper  in  the  Boston  terminal  at  about 
eight  o'clock  the  next  morning.  He  went 
at  once  to  a  restaurant  for  breakfast  and 
looked  over  the  columns  of  the  Herald. 

As  he  observed  his  appearance  reflected  in 
a  mirror  by  his  side,  he  noted  he  bore  no 
resemblance  to  the  cashier  of  the  Dwighton 
National  Bank.  While  in  the  restaurant 
waiting  for  his  order  to  be  served,  he  went 
into  a  telephone  booth,  called  up  the  Cun- 
ard  Line  Steamship  Company's  office  and  in- 
quired if  he  could  obtain  a  reservation  on  the 
S.  S.  Ivernia,  which  sailed  at  noon  that  day 
for  Liverpool.  He  was  informed  by  the 
agent  that  he  could  have  a  lower  berth  in  a 
cabin    that    would    be   shared    bv    no    other 


136  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

occupant.  He  ordered  the  reservation  in 
the  name  of  George  Sparks,  and  said  that 
he  would  be  at  the  steamship  office  to  pay 
his  fare  and  obtain  the  ticket,  soon  after 
he  had  eaten  his  breakfast. 

He  secured  his  ticket  and  went  to  a  nearby 
haberdasher's  to  make  a  few  purchases  of 
articles  that  he  would  need  on  the  voyage. 

The  agent  had  informed  him  that  he  could 
go  on  board  as  soon  as  it  suited  his  convenience 
and  that  the  Ivernia  would  sail  at  12  o'clock 
noon,  precisely. 


CHAPTER  XX 

After  Mike  Culin  had  surveyed  himself 
in  the  pier  glass,  he  gathered  up  the  garments 
he  had  taken  off,  carried  them  to  his  former 
seat  on  the  platform  of  the  abandoned  well, 
raised  the  lid  and  dropped  the  clothes  to  the 
cavernous  depths,  a  hundred  feet  below.  He 
had  his  only  baggage,  a  small  suit-case,  hid 
in  a  convenient  spot.  His  board  bill  had 
been  settled  at  the  hotel  and  he  was  supposed 
to  be  leaving  town  on  the  night  express. 

He  walked  directly  toward  the  side  entrance 
of  the  bank  and,  as  there  appeared  to  be  no 
one  about,  he  was  in  the  act  of  introducing 
his  key  into  the  lock,  when  suddenly  the 
glare  from  a  dark  lantern  flashed  in  his  face. 
His  hand  dropped  mechanically  to  his  side 
where  Edward  Marsden^s  revolver  hung  in  its 
holster. 

''AH  right,  Mr.  Marsden,''  said  the  officer, 
who  had  been  concealed  in  the  shadow. 
''  Nice  night,  sir,"  and  he  passed  on. 

137 


138  Accessory  After  the  Fad 

^'That  was  a  close  call/'  muttered  the 
burglar.  ^*  Lucky  I  changed  those  togs/' 

The  railroad  company  was  putting  in  some 
additional  trackage  and  had  to  do  considerable 
blasting  in  the  cut  adjacent  to  the  town. 
The  electric  light  company  had  set  a  number 
of  arc  lights  for  the  contractors  and  a  night 
gang  was  working  there. 

The  only  person  in  that  city  who  was  glad 
to  hear  the  report  from  the  explosives  was 
Mike  Culin.  He  inferred  that  the  constable 
who  had  seen  him  enter  the  bank  and  knew 
that  it  was  Edward  Marsden's  custom  to 
work  late  would  probably  go  some  distance 
from  the  building,  now  that  he  thought  the 
place  "securely  tyled.^' 

With  his  usual  industrious  activity,  Mike 
proceeded  to  prepare  his  charge  of  dynamite 
for  blowing  open  the  safe  door.  He  took  off 
Edward's  light  overcoat  (in  the  breast  pocket 
of  which  was  his  forty-one  thousand  dollars) 
and  laid  it  on  a  chair  back.  Then  he  re- 
moved the  outside  portion  of  the  lock  with  his 
powerful  pliere,  placed  his  charge  of  dyna- 
mite in  position,  ignited  the  fuse,  stepped 
back  a  few  feet  and  w^aited  for  the  explosion. 
He  had  no  fear,  and  would  stand  right  beside 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  139 

the  charge  on  some  occasions.  Like  many 
old  switchmen  and  mill  operatives,  he  some- 
times became  incautious.  For  some  reason 
the  charge  failed  to  explode  and  Mike  stepped 
over  to  the  door  of  the  vault  and  leaned  down 
to  make  a  close  inspection.  At  this  moment 
the  delayed  ignition  took  place  and  blew  his 
head  completely  from  his  body,  scattering 
the  bloody  fragments  in  every  direction,  and 
making  identification  impossible.  The  door 
was  blown  off  the  vault  and  the  inner  chamber 
was  burst  open. 

The  bank  building  stood  alone  and  the 
detonation  was  unnoticed  as  the  railroad 
contractors  were  constantly  exploding  charges. 
When  the  janitor  opened  the  doors  in  the 
morning,  a  general  hue  and  cry  was  made 
over  the  terrible  catastrophe,  consequent 
upon  finding  the  body  of  Edward  Marsden. 
The  tools  left  there  indicated  that  Edward 
had  probably  been  surprised  while  at  work. 
The  burglars,  who  had  tried  to  force  him  to 
open  the  safe,  finding  him  obdurate,  had 
exploded  their  charge  of  dynamite  while  he 
stood  by  the  door.  The  discovery  of  the 
money  in  his  pocketbook  showed  that  he  had 
in  some  wav  outwitted  the  robbers. 


140  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

Dr.  Strong,  returning  along  the  Connecti- 
cut River  Road  about  three  o'clock,  had  met 
two  strange  men  closely  muffled,  in  a  big 
limousine  car,  and  he  concluded  that  they 
must  be  the  burglars.  The  bank  lost  nothing. 
In  Edward's  pocketbook  was  found  the  tele- 
gram from  the  New  York  brokers  which  read 
''Slump  unexpected.  Send  forty-M  to  liqui- 
date," signed  ''Steele,  Hall  &  Co." 

It  was  clear  that  the  cashier  was  going  to 
remit,  as  requested,  and  had  the  money  in 
his  pocket  for  that  purpose. 

The  indemnity  company  carrying  the  burg- 
lar insurance  sent  their  adjuster  and  detec- 
tives to  report  on  the  case.  Mrs.  Marsden 
was  so  badly  prostrated  by  the  terrible 
occurrence  that  she  remained  close  by  her 
babe  and  allowed  friends  to  superintend  all  the 
funeral  arrangements. 

The  detective  Serjeant  Jerry  O'Hara,  re- 
marked to  the  adjuster,  "  That  is  the  first  time 
I  ever  seen  a  hand  with  three  fingers  like  Mike 
Culin's.  Mike  has  often  been  suspected  but 
has  never  been  'pinched'  so  we  never  got 
any  Bertillon  measurements  on  him — not  a 
photograph,  nor  even  a  thumb  squeeze,  or 
I  would  take  one   here  just  for  luck.     It's 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  141 

funny  that  no  one  seems  to  have  noticed  that 
Mr.  Marsden  had  only  three  fingers  on  his 
right  hand.  He  was  studying  for  a  doctor 
and  was  a  great  athlete  before  he  took  charge 
of  the  bank.  I  might  find  out  something 
about  it  at  the  college,  but  everyone  knows 
him.  He  had  his  father's  watch  and  chain 
on.  The  tailor  who  made  the  clothes  identi- 
fied them.  His  tag  is  on  the  coat  and  Mr. 
Marsden  had  on  his  thirty-second  degree 
masonic  ring.  All  the  proofs  necessary  to 
establish  his  identity  are  in  evidence.'^ 

The  funeral  obsequies  were  conducted  in 
the  church  by  Mr.  Carruthers,  Isobel's  father, 
after  which  the  various  masonic  bodies  to 
which  Edward  belonged,  with  the  largest 
funeral  procession  ever  seen  in  Dwighton, 
conducted  the  remains  to  the  family  vault  in 
Woodlawn  cemetery. 

A  gloom  fell  upon  the  faces  of  the  business 
men  of  the  city  as  they  discussed  the  untimely 
taking  off  of  the  popular  young  banker. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

As  George  Sparks  was  on  his  way  to  the 
Cunard  Line  wharf,  he  heard  a  newsboy 
crying,  ^^Extry!  Extry!  Terrible  accident 
to  de  cashier  and  robbery  of  de  Dwighton 
Bank!^' 

He  bought  a  copy  and  while  in  the  taxicab 
read  the  account  of  the  bank  robbery  and  the 
tragic  death  of  Edward  Marsden,  the  cashier. 

This  was  a  vicarious  atonement  made  by 
Mike  Culin,  who  actually  became  ^^  accessory 
after  the  fact/'  though  unaware  that  he 
himself  had  connived  at  a  grave  defalcation 
and  refunded  the  shortage  from  his  own 
steahngs. 

Edward  Marsden  had  made  but  one  false 
step  from  an  honorable  career  and  then  he 
really  took  only  what  belonged  to  him. 

Sparks  had  purchased  a  traveling  rug  and 
a  few  necessaries  that  he  could  carry  in  his 
Gladstone  bag,  so  that  his  luggage  was  quite 
scanty.     It  was  his  intention  to  replenish  his 

142 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  143 

wardrobe  after  arriving  in  London.  With  a 
feeling  of  safety  he  unpacked  his  things. 

He  went  up  on  deck  and  with  lone- 
liness indescribable  observed  the  parting  of 
friends,  until  the  signal  was  given  for  all 
visitors  to  go  ashore.  After  the  whistle 
blew  and  the  great  steamer  commenced  to 
move  from  her  dock,  he  stood  by  the  rail  and 
watched  the  waving  handkerchiefs  and  hats 
(none  of  which  signals  was  meant  for  him) 
until  they  were  no  longer  discernible.  Then 
he  went  to  his  stateroom  until  the  bugle 
sounded  for  lunch,  at  which  all  of  the  passen- 
gers appeared  and  seemed  to  do  full  justice 
to  their  first  meal  on  board. 

The  weather  was  on  the  whole  deUghtful 
for  the  time  of  year.  There  was  sometimes 
a  heavy  sea  but  the  rolling  chocks  on  the 
steamer  prevented  any  really  unpleasant 
motion.  On  arriving  in  the  Mersey  many  of 
the  crafts  there  showed  some  degree  of  rough 
handhng  by  wind  and  sea,  but  the  Ivernia's 
passengers  had  a  most  delightful  voyage. 

Two  of  the  stewards  were  in  conversation 
near  Mr.  Spark's  stateroom,  and  the  following 
dialogue  took  place. 

'''Arry,  will  that  'ere  bloke  in  forty-two 


144  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

as  sits  at  my  table  be  gocxl  for  ^arf  a  quid 
w*en  we  gets  in  the  Mersey?'' 

"  'E  ain't  no  bloke,  Bill.  'E's  a  gent  from 
London,  'e  is.  'E  was  just  a-torking  to  me, 
'e  wus.  'E  arsks  me,  ^Are  you  from  the 
hother  side/  sez  'e. 

"^From  the  'Ditch,'  sez  I. 

"^Not  Pannymar,'  'e  sez. 

"^No,  bloomin'  Sorditch,'  sez  I. 

"^  Never  'eard  of  it,'  'e  sez. 

^*^W'y,  you  can't  miss  hit,'  sez  I.  Wen 
you  come  howter  the  north  London  station, 
the  church  is  hoppersit,  just  at  ween  Bishops- 
gate  without,  and  the  'Ackney  Road.  There's 
the  Heel  Pie  Shop  hon  the  left'and  side,  just 
harfter  you  parss  the  King's  Inn  Road. 

"^Do  you  'ave  trouble  with  yer  haitches 
hin  the  States?'  'e  arsks  me. 

" '  None,  at  all,'  sez  I.  ^I  'ave  'em  the  same 
as  Gawd  give  'em  to  me,'  sez  L 

^'^I  like  your  haccent,'  'e  sez;  'hit  'ud  be 
a  forchin  to  ye  hif  ye  wuz  a  hactor.'  Then 
he  gimme  a  sufferin.  There'll  be  hanother 
fer  ye  w'en  we  gets  hover,'  he  sez. 

"You'll  get  yer  'arf  a  quid,  hall  right," 
the  speaker  remarked;  and  he  gave  Bill  a 
playful  smack  in  the  face  with  the  flat  of  his 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  145 

hand  as  he  placed  himself  in  a  sparring 
attitude  and  danced  around  him. 

^^I^m  from  the  'Ditch— bloomin^  Sorditch!'' 
said  he.  ^^I  can  fight  hanybody  hunder  two 
and  hover  ninety  hout  of  a  'orspital  or  a 
workus.^' 

Just  then  Mr.  Perkins,  the  head  steward, 
appeared,  causing  Harr>^  to  remark  in  some 
haste,  "  ril  bring  them  there  dishes  hin,  Bill, 
w'en  I  gets  this  stateroom  done.''  He  then 
disappeared  inside. 

Vice- Admiral  Lord  James  Leaf  bridge,  K. 
C.  B.,  accompanied  by  his  brother,  whose 
wife  was  with  him,  were  passengers  on  the 
Ivernia  and  sat  with  Sparks  at  the  Captain's 
table.  Sparks  made  no  effort  to  strike  up  an 
acquaintance  with  the  Admiral  as  many  oth- 
ers who  were  attracted  by  the  opportunity  to 
speak  to  a  real,  Uve  lord  were  doing.  Per- 
haps for  the  reason  of  his  seeming  diffidence, 
the  Admiral  made  it  a  point  during  their 
deck  promenades  to  address  him. 

On  one  occasion  he  said,  '^I  expect  I'll 
have  my  wind  shut  off  when  I  get  back; 
been  talking  too  much  before  the  ^At  Home 
Club'  in  New  York.  Such  clever  entertainers 
they  are!" 


14^  Accessoi'y  After  the  Fact 

The  Admiral's  remark  proved  to  be  pro- 
phetic. It  was  onl}^  a  few  days  after  his 
arrival  when  his  political  opportunities  were 
curtailed  by  an  appointment  in  command  of 
a  squadron.  The  Captain  had  received  a 
marconigram  from  the  owners,  to  lay  out  in 
the  river  and  not  attempt  to  land  his  pas- 
sengers until  after  breakfast  in  the  morning, 
but  his  lordship  was  taken  ashore  by  a  tender 
and  went  up  to  London  on  a  special  train,  as 
Parliament  was  to  be  prorogued  the  next 
day  and  he  was  a  representative  from  Har- 
wich. 

Another  reason  for  his  going  was  a  quite 
amusing  incident  that  occurred  the  night  of 
the  amateur  concert  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Sailors'  Union.  There  was  a  Russian  tenor 
on  the  cabin  list.  He  had  long  hair  curling 
to  his  shoulders,  wore  knickerbockers  and  a 
military  cape.  He  was  to  sing  at  the  per- 
formance and  was  waiting  in  full  evening 
dress  with  his  cape  on,  walking  up  and  down 
on  the  deck  to  steady  his  nerves.  The 
Admiral's  valet  had  been  sampling  the  ex- 
cellent brand  of  Scotch  that  the  Captain  had 
ordered  the  steward  to  put  in  his  lordship's 
stateroom.     The  valet  was  afraid  that  there 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  147 

would  be  more  left  than  the  customs  officer 
would  allow  him  to  take  ashore,  so  he  had 
concealed  quite  a  large  portion  in  the  laby- 
rinth of  his  alimentary  tract.  The  effect 
upon  his  cerebral  consciousness  had  been  to 
produce  in  his  mind  a  belief  that  his  identity 
had  been  changed.  He  suddenly  landed  in 
front  of  the  Russian  professor,  with  his  arms 
akimbo  and  a  frightful  grimace  upon  his 
features  as  he  shouted,  ''  Fm  the  wild  man  of 
Borneo!" 

The  professor  gave  a  shriek  and  bounded 
away  with  the  gesticulating  valet  at  his  heels. 
Several  circuits  of  the  decks  were  made  by 
the  tenor  and  his  pursuer  until  he  was 
finally  rescued  by  one  of  the  officers,  who 
assured  the  valet  that  he  would  ^^  report  him 
to  his  master.'^ 

The  Admiral  had  a  tough  job  ^^  squaring'' 
himself  with  the  Russian,  so  he  was  not  par- 
ticularly anxious  to  be  in  evidence  when  that 
sadly  mistreated  individual  landed  upon  teira 
fir  ma. 

'  'Boots, ' '  the  bathroom  and  smoke  room  stew- 
ard, and  all  the  rest  whose  palms  were  itching 
for  a  'Hip,"  had  been  cared  for,  and  when 
George   Sparks   left   the   liner   the   stewards 


148  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

carried  his  luggage  up  the  incline  onto  the 
platform  of  the  London  and  Northwestern 
Railroad,  where  the  steamer  special  was  in 
readiness  for  the  passengers. 

The  train  pulled  out  at  9  a.  m.,  and  at 
fifteen  minutes  after  the  noon  hour  drew  up 
in  Euston  Station. 

George  Sparks  took  a  cab  and  completely 
disappeared  during  the  ride.  The  tag  on  his 
Gladstone  bag  read,  "Walter  Sands,  Liver- 
pool/^ and  under  that  name  he  registered 
with  the  landlady  at  the  Bloomsbury  Square 
boarding-house.  He  preferred  to  have  a 
room  with  breakfast  served  therein  and  take 
the  rest  of  his  meals  out.  He  was  engaged 
in  looking  up  some  historical  data  at  the 
British  Museum,  he  told  her. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

Two  years  later  Isobel  received  the  follow- 
ing letter  from  Eleanor  Broughton: 

"Dear  Isobel: 

'^I  have  received  all  your  telepathic  com- 
munications, read  your  letters  and  the  news- 
paper accounts  of  the  occurrence  at  the  bank, 
which  robbed  you  of  your  husband. 

"I  also  note  the  remarks  you  overheard 
the  detective  make  to  the  insurance  adjuster 
which  compels  you  to  say  that  you  cannot 
reconcile  yourself  to  the  fact  that  Edward  is 
really  removed  from  this  world. 

"I  have  carefully  considered  all  your  im- 
pressions but  will  not  now  divulge  the  nature 
of  my  opinion. 

"  I  want  you  to  start  for  England  as  soon  as 
possible  (cable  date  and  steamer),  and  bring 
John  with  you.  You  must  make  me  an 
extended  visit  at  the  home  of  my  uncle, 
General  Broughton,  in  London.     He  is  very 

149 


150  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

anxious  that  you  should  come,  and  I  believe 
that  I  can  give  you  some  cheering  news. 
"  Yours  affectionately, 

"  Eleanor  Broughton/' 

Isobel  Marsden  was  not  in  the  Poets'  Comer 
at  Westminster  Abbey  with  her  boy,  though 
the  striking  resemblance  which  the  lady  and 
her  child  bore  to  his  own  wife  and  baby  had 
disturbed  Walter's  equanimity.  It  was  a 
psychic  phenomenon — the  ^^  coming  event 
casting  its  shadow  before.'' 

At  that  moment  Isobel  was  delivering  a 
cable  dispatch  for  Eleanor  to  the  messenger, 
announcing  the  fact  that  she  would  sail  by 
the  Cunard  line  S.  S.  Saxonia  at  a  date  two 
weeks  later.  Her  telepathic  communication 
had  Hkewise  reached  Eleanor  while  in  the 
Abbey.  Walter  had  felt  the  impact  and 
been  affected  by  it,  as  a  wireless  instrument 
picks  up  messages  not  intended  for  that 
station. 

On  arriving  at  Queenstown,  Isobel  sent  a  mes- 
sage ashore  by  the  tender  carrying  the  mail, 
to  be  wired  to  Eleanor,  and  on  the  arrival  of 
the  Saxonia  in  the  Mersey  a  reply  was  brought 
on  board  for  her,  stating  that  her  former  school- 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  151 

mate  and  telepathic  communicant  would  meet 
her  at  Liverpool. 

Eleanor  and  Isobel  travelled  in  a  private 
compartment  of  a  first-class  carriage  from 
Liverpool  to  London,  and  on  the  way  Eleanor 
unfolded  her  suspicions  to  Isobel. 

The  fair  conspirators  formulated  a  plan  of 
campaign  whereby  Isobel  and  John  were  to 
be  introduced  unexpectedly  to  Walter  Sands. 

General  Broughton,  who  had  a  great  af- 
fection for  him,  was  anxious  that  Walter 
should  be  invited  at  once  to  meet  the  beautiful 
widow  from  the  United  States,  but  Eleanor 
made  him  promise  that  he  would  not  mention 
her  arrival  to  Walter,  as  she  was  much 
fatigued  by  the  journey  and  needed  rest.  In 
reality,  Eleanor  was  scheming  to  delay  the 
meeting  until  the  General  left  for  Maidstone 
to  be  absent  several  days  on  business. 

The  first  da}^  following  her  uncle's  depart- 
ure, Eleanor  telephoned  to  Walter  at  the 
office  that  she  would  like  to  have  him  come  to 
the  house  that  evening  to  dinner  at  half 
past  six  o'clock. 

Eleanor  and  Walter  were  seated  in  the 
spacious  living-room  of  the  Bryanstone  Square 
residence,  when  the  curtains  of  a  recess  used 


152  Accessory  After  the  Fact 

as  a  music-room  were  drawn  apart  andlso- 
bel  Marsden,  leading  John  by  the  hand,  en- 
tered. She  advanced  toward  them  and  Eleanor 
arose  as  if  to  introduce  her  friend,  but  she 
noticed  that  Walter's  gaze  had  become  fixed, 
his  eyes  were  glassy  and  staring,  his  face  had 
blanched  to  the  color  of  a  sheet,  his  lips  seemed 
desirous  to  speak,  but  he  could  not  articulate 
a  sound. 

Isobel  came  toward  him,  her  hands  raised 
and  extended.  The  hard  expression  on  his 
face  relaxed  and  a  glow  of  perfect  peace 
seemed  to  settle  there  as  he  exclaimed,  ^'My 
God!  Isobel  and  John!  Can  it  be  true?  I 
am  not  worthy." 

He  clasped  her  in  his  arms  and  kissed  her 
face. 

^^  Yes,  Edward.  It  is  true.  You  can  thank 
dear  Eleanor  for  our  coming. '^ 

''  Not  Edward,  darling,'^  exclaimed  Eleanor. 
^*He  is  gone  never  to  return.  Let  me  intro- 
duce my  friend,  Walter  Sands,  who  will  soon 
be  elected  President  of  the  Council  of  Foreign 
Bond  Holders.  My  uncle,  General  Broughton, 
is  shortl}^  to  resign  in  his  favor. 

'^Now  listen!  I  shall  give  you  people  just 
fifteen   minutes   to   converse  and   renew   ac- 


Accessory  After  the  Fact  153 

quaintance,  before  dinner  is  served  and  you 
may,  during  that  period  of  time,  arrange  for  a 
very  energetic  courtship  of  short  duration, 
with  a  quiet  wedding  to  follow  in  this  house, 
and  the  General  will  give  the  bride  away/^ 

The  marriage  ceremony  took  place  as 
planned,  just  two  months  later.  IsobeFs 
trousseau  had  been  provided  by  Eleanor  as 
a  tribute  of  affection  to  her  friend. 

Isobel  and  Eleanor  and  all  of  Walter's 
friends — even  Captain  Musgrove,  who  was 
Walter's  best  man — had  become  "accessory 
after  the  fact." 


THE  END. 


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